PROOFS  OF  THE 
SPIRIT    WORLD 

(On  Ne  Meurt  Pas) 

BY 

L.  CHEVREUIL 

Translated  by 
AGNES  KENDRICK  GRAY 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  BUTTON  &  COMPANY 

681  FIFTH  AVENUE 


Copyright,  1920,  BY 
E.  P.  BUTTON  &  CO. 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  GREAT  PROBLEM  .                   ...      1 
II.  TELEPATHY 16 

III.  ORGANIC  DISORDERS    .      .      .      .      ,      .37 

IV.  PREVIOUS  LIVES 56 

V.  THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT 82 

VI.  THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS 97 

VII.  TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  AND  MATERIAL- 
IZED FORMS 125 

VIII.  COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS  ....  146 

IX.  MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE       .      .      .170 

X.  SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      .      .      .  201 

XI.  MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND    .      .  233 

XII.  MORS  JANUA  VIT^E  .  262 


2038982 


PROOFS  OF  THE 
SPIRIT  WORLD 


PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  GREAT  PROBLEM 

The  Study  of  the  human  soul  as  a  psychic  and 
physical  entity,  will  be  the  science  of  to-morrow. 
CAMILLE  FLAMMAHIOK. 

Do  we  really  die?  Few  persons  know  what  answer, 
based  upon  discovered  facts,  may  to-day  be  made  to 
this  important  question.  Many,  indeed,  believe  that 
there  is  no  longer  room  for  doubt — that  immortality 
of  the  human  soul  is  a  fallacy  condemned  by  science. 

Because  thinkers  and  philosophers  have  not  been 
able  in  the  course  of  the  centuries  to  agree  upon  any 
one  conception  of  immortality,  the  spiritualistic  idea 
is  considered  visionary;  and  curiously,  few  believe 
that  science,  which  has  already  solved  so  many  prob- 
lems, can  also  solve  this,  the  one  most  deeply  signifi- 
cant to  mankind. 

Religions  give  us  no  certain  knowledge,  and  science, 
accepting  only  demonstration,  does  not  comprehend 
the  language  of  Faith. 

With  respect  for  old  philosophic  and  religious  con- 
cepts, we  desire  to  offend  no  conviction ;  but  let  those 
who  believe  that  they  receive  light  from  above  be 
willing,  at  least,  to  regard  without  scorn  those  who 


2          PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

are  seeking  a  solution  from  Nature;  and  who  dig 
the  soil  hoping  to  encounter  there  a  solid  base  upon 
which  they  may  build. 

It  is  the  year  1916;  we  have  seen  mankind  at  work; 
murder,  theft  and  rape  have  incited  no  awakening 
of  conscience  in  the  neutral  nations;  the  frightful 
storm  which  scatters  death  upon  Europe  has  revealed 
many  powers,  many  weaknesses.  Something  seems 
lacking  in  the  guidance  of  humanity. 

Nineteenth  Century  Science  committed  this  vio- 
lence upon  reason  and  denied  all  that  makes  for  the 
moral  grandeur  of  mankind.  It  accepted  the  lie 
that  there  is  nothing  else  in  the  universe  but  matter 
such  as  we  know  it:  there  is  no  soul,  no  intelligence; 
there  are  only  reactions.  The  great  scientific  dogma 
was  therefore  that  the  cause  of  all  things  exists  in 
this  matter,  which  is  reduced  by  a  last  analysis  to 
the  indivisible,  indissoluble,  eternal  atom.  To-day 
the  dissolution  of  atoms  must  be  admitted,  and  as 
it  is  vain  to  suppose  that  the  dispersed  matter  is 
destroyed,  we  may  affirm  that  the  separation  of  the 
atoms  is  their  passage  into  a  beyond  of  which  science 
knows  nothing. 

There  are,  therefore,  other  physical  possibilities 
than  those  admitted  by  or  known  to  science. 

As  for  spiritualistic  doctrines,  they  are  insufficient; 
happy  are  those  who  have  the  faith,  but  we  in  our 
researches  cannot  enter  the  domain  of  mysticism;  we 
must  attack  the  problem  from  the  earth.  Studying 
faculties  and  manifestations  of  the  human  soul  we 
follow  its  deviations  and  aberrations,  in  order  to  show 
clearly  that  its  essence  is  spiritual  and  that  material- 
ism cannot  furnish  its  key. 

We  do  not  die!     This  is  the  certainty  that  we 


THE  GREAT  PROBLEM  8 

may  acquire  solely  by  observation  applied  to  facts 
which  are  accessible  to  us.  Knowledge  may  replace 
faith.  There  exists  to-day  a  certain  class  of  facts 
acquired  by  observation,  which  prove  definitely  that 
the  soul  exists  in  itself,  that  it  exists  before  the  crea- 
tion of  the  body,  and  survives  the  destruction  of  its 
mortal  abode. 

Many  scholars  are  aware  of  this;  certain  of  the 
most  illustrious  have  carefully  explored  the  strange 
region  of  the  soul  and  affirm  that  by  wholly  scientific 
methods  they  have  reached  assurances  of  which  the 
world  at  large  is  ignorant. 

There  exists  a  certain  class  of  facts  acquired  by 
science,  which  prove  that  in  the  living  being  exists 
an  invisible  substance  endowed  with  faculties  which 
cannot  be  explained  in  relation  to  matter.  This  also 
the  world  does  not  know. 

Finally,  we  have  a  class  of  facts,  more  difficult  to 
observe  scientifically,  which,  submitted  to  minute 
examinations,  have  established  that  under  certain 
conditions,  deceased  persons  have  been  able  to  appear 
in  the  world  of  living  beings. 

The  body  dies,  it  is  true.  But  we  will  begin  by 
proving  that  the  body  is  not  all,  and  that  we  have 
possibilities  of  survival  in  a  material  substratum 
which  never  fails  us ;  in  other  words,  that  we  possess 
at  the  present  time  an  invisible  body  which  you  per- 
haps do  not  know,  and  of  which  we  shall  speak. 

Some  may  say,  "I  want  to  see  before  I  believe," 
to  which  we  may  reply,  "You  believe  in  forces  .  .  . 
have  you  ever  seen  them?" 

Yet  the  undisturbed  somnambulist  sees  the  mag- 
netic emanations,  and  sees  also  the  psychic  body.  As 
for  us,  we  cannot  see  even  the  oxygen,  which  is  ma- 


4          PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

terially  the  most  indispensable  element  to  us,  since 
it  is  nourishment  of  life  and  much  more  essential 
than  food. 

However,  little  more  than  a  century  ago  men  lived 
in  absolute  ignorance  of  this  element  so  necessary  to 
life,  just  as  we  live  to-day  in  ignorance  of  this  psychic 
element,  the  true  body  of  the  soul,  indispensable  to 
feeling  and  action. 

Invisibility  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  supernatu- 
ral. The  materialists  of  fifty  years  ago,  who  be- 
lieved that  visibility  or  impenetrability  was  the  es- 
sential condition  of  the  material,  were  really  super- 
stitious. 

Scientific  spiritualism  is  established  upon  material 
bases,  which  are  the  foundations  of  a  metapsychology 
of  the  invisible  world.  Associated  with  its  observa- 
tions are  scholars  well  qualified  to  give  the  facts 
an  indisputable  value. 

Unfortunately,  many  men,  led  astray  by  the  sar- 
casm of  a  press  utterly  ignorant  of  the  present  state 
of  investigation,  imagine  that  the  spirits  are  guar- 
dians or  doorkeepers  of  the  beyond,  ready  to  answer 
at  the  first  summons  if  somebody  or  other's  grand- 
father is  among  the  tenants  of  the  dwelling.  There 
is  large  opportunity  for  wit  in  presenting  the  facts 
of  spiritualism,  which  delights  free  thinkers. 

Therefore,  we  must  rise  above  vain  mockery  and 
have  the  courage  to  endure  ridicule;  the  triumph  of 
fools  will  be  brief. 

We  must,  first  of  all,  study  animism,  which  is  at 
once  a  dogma  and  an  established  fact. 

As  a  dogma,  it  holds  that  the  soul  is  the  animat- 
ing principle  of  the  body ;  as  a  fact,  it  is  the  exterior 
manifestation  of  forces  called  animic. 


THE  GREAT  PROBLEM  5 

Materialists  oppose  animism  to  spiritualism.  But 
this  word  animism  can  have  no  meaning  upon  their 
lips,  since  they  will  not  admit  the  soul  as  a  principle 
and  reject  as  a  fact  the  exteriorization  of  the  sen- 
sory, motive  and  intellectual  faculties  of  sensation 
acting  outside  of  the  human  body. 

Thus  they  acknowledge  the  letter  and  not  the 
spirit.  It  is  therefore  inconsequent  to  them  to  ex- 
plain anything  by  animism. 

But  animism  is  a  fact  that  they  cannot  deny; 
therefore  it  is  stubbornness  on  their  part  to  stand 
fast  in  their  conception  of  physiology,  while,  on  the 
other  side,  they  combat  the  spiritualistic  conception 
in  the  name  of  the  animic  theory,  which  for  them  can- 
not exist. 

The  spiritualists  teach  that  without  animism  there 
could  be  no  possible  relation  between  mind  and  mat- 
ter. Without  animism,  there  could  be  no  phenome- 
non of  inspiration,  no  presentiment,  none  of  those 
phenomena  which  make  possible  communication  be- 
tween us  and  the  departed. 

The  possibility  of  spirit  manifestation  is  subor- 
dinate to  this  very  question  of  animism. 

Fifty  years  ago,  animism  was  not  scientifically 
accredited.  That  is  why  science  discarded  the  ques- 
tion a  priori.  To  a  Biichner  and  his  discipless  who 
mistook  laws  for  causes,  the  question  could  not  even 
be  presented.  Relying  upon  the  known  laws  of 
physiology,  Biichner  declared  blindly  that  they 
implied  the  rejection,  pure  and  simple,  of  all  action 
from  a  distance.  The  reasons  for  his  conclusion 
were  pitiable. 

The  antiquity  of  man,  he  wrote,  destroyed  the 
tradition  of  the  almanac  of  Mathieu  de  la  Drome 


6          PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

for  him — when  it  asserts  that  God  had  not  created 
man  2000  years  before  the  deluge,  spiritualism 
breaks  down.  All  the  arguments  of  Biichner  are  of 
this  stamp. 

To  him,  thought-transmission  would  be  a  miracle; 
but  this  action  is  normally  manifested  in  our  organ- 
isms, and  to-day  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  deny 
that  it  is  shown  outside  of  organisms.  However, 
people  surrender  reluctantly,  giving  up  as  little  as 
may  be,  ceding  as  slowly  as  possible  the  ground  that 
spiritualistic  science  is  winning,  and  justifying  this 
attitude  by  donning  the  hypocritical  mask  of  scien- 
tific prudence. 

There  are  those  who,  though  convinced  of  the 
reality  of  abnormal  manifestations,  still  declare  a 
tardy  intention  of  regarding  these  facts  only  under 
a  conventional  aspect.  They  declare  that  they  must 
study  the  simplest  phenomena  before  going  on  to  the 
more  complex.  They  forget,  however,  that  before 
pronouncing  a  judgment,  all  phases  of  a  phenomenon 
must  be  studied. 

Those  who  have,  so  regretfully,  conceded  the 
reality  of  movement  without  contact,  pretend  to 
study  only  the  physical  side  of  the  manifestation, 
without  taking  into  account  the  intellectual,  of  which 
movement  it  is  often  but  the  expression.  This  is 
called,  limiting  the  field  of  experiments;  in  other 
words,  forbidding  the  search  for  causes. 

Those  who  wish  thus  to  dictate  to  us  the  course 
to  follow,  assure  us  that  the  independent  pioneers 
impede  and  confuse  them  in  their  experiments.  Let 
us  therefore  explain  this. 

It  would  be  absurd  pretension  to  hold  to  an  ex- 
planation which  explains  only  the  simplest  facts, 


THE  GREAT  PROBLEM  T 

while  other  facts  of  the  same  order  contradict  this 
explanation. 

A  fact  is  a  fact,  and  no  one  has  the  right  to  elimi- 
nate one,  however  exceptional  it  may  seem.  That 
fact,  even,  which  escapes  our  present  comprehension, 
is  all  the  more  valuable,  because  it  increases  the 
limits  of  the  possible  and  will  serve  as  a  basis  for 
future  discoveries. 

I  dare  even  to  say  that  the  more  exceptional  a 
fact  is,  the  less  chance  there  is  of  seeing  it  repeated 
often,  and  it  becomes  more  necessary  since  definite 
proof  exists  to  give  it  publicity. 

The  world  must  know  that  such  a  proof  exists, 
lest  it  be  forgotten  and  the  limitation  affect  a  new 
fact. 

We  do  not  find  astronomers  neglecting  even  an 
isolated  observation  and  taking  no  further  account 
of  a  comet's  appearance  because  it  has  ceased  to 
appear.  We  do  not  hear  them  declare  that  it  is 
unnecessary  to  observe  the  nebulae,  when  there  is  so 
much  more  to  be  observed  in  a  nearer  field.  That, 
however,  is  the  method  which  they  wish  to  recommend, 
when  they  say  we  must  not  overflow  into  the  sub- 
ject of  communication  with  the  beyond,  until  we  shall 
have  completely  exhausted  that  of  hypnotism. 

Yet  who  knows  which  of  these  two  subjects  will 
shed  its  light  upon  the  other?  The  same  physio- 
logical process  can  produce  similar  automatic  re- 
sults, while  the  motive  agents  are  different.  If  M. 
Pierre  Janet  is  able  to  use  hypnotism  to  produce,  in 
an  unconscious  subject,  an  automatism  of  a  spiritist 
appearance,  he  has  simply  proved  that  any  mind 
could  deposit  in  the  lower  strata  of  the  organism  a 
suggestion  of  similar  nature.  Whether  the  sugges- 


8          PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

tion  be  true  or  false  matters  little;  M.  Pierre  Janet 
has  created  an  illusion,  let  us  say.  But  he  could, 
also,  have  used  the  same  means  to  convey  a  real 
message.  It  is  only  in  looking  towards  spiritism  that 
certain  cases  become  explicable. 

According  to  the  simplest  method,  we  should  have 
to  conclude  that,  because  one  automatism  may  be 
explicable  by  spontaneous  cellular  activities,  no  other 
automatic  action  can  be  attributed  to  a  higher 
source.  But  observation  contradicts,  absolutely,  this 
conclusion. 

We  will  not  say  much  concerning  table  moving. 
That  popular  phenomenon  is  sufficiently  well  known. 

As  four  or  five  persons  are  rarely  found  who  are 
disposed  to  gather  around  a  table  for  serious  experi- 
ments and  it  is  very  difficult  to  arouse  a  common 
sympathy  among  them,  only  futile  results,  for  the 
most  part,  are  recorded,  and  indefinite  observers 
pronounce  definitely  a  verdict  of  condemnation. 

Experimentation  is  difficult,  yet  we  need  but  to 
study  those  who  have  observed  seriously,  to  gain  an 
idea  of  the  communications  obtained  by  the  lifting 
of  objects  without  contact. 

Here  we  find  again  the  proof  of  the  fluidic  element 
in  communication  with  the  brain  of  the  audience, 
made  manifest  to  our  senses. 

Therefore,  there  is  round  a  table  something  like 
a  field  of  force,  created  by  the  fluidic  exteriorization 
of  all  the  persons  present.  There  already  is  soul, 
thinking  and  acting.  This  is  an  animic  manifesta- 
tion. 

In  the  exteriorizable  element  is  a  sensitive  faculty 
that  brings  it  into  relation  with  the  will.  There  is 
soul  everywhere;  there  is,  everywhere,  a  motive 


THE  GREAT  PROBLEM  9 

faculty,  capable  of  feeling  an  influence  and  of  per- 
forming mechanically  what  the  will  dictates. 

Man's  soul  seems  so  bound  to  his  body  that  physi- 
ologists ascribe  to  the  body  itself  movements  which 
are  determined  by  the  soul. 

It  is  as  if  we  were  to  attribute  to  the  telegraph 
wire  the  production  of  the  electric  current  whose 
results  are  visible  to  us.  Indeed,  certain  accidents 
have  definitely  established  that  the  soul  is  not  iden- 
tical with  the  functions  of  the  body,  as  the  mate- 
rialists believe. 

Magnetism  and  hypnosis  alone,  already  tend  to 
prove  the  action  of  a  psychic  force  independent  of 
the  organism.  After  Mesmer,  Puysegur  and  De- 
leuze,  Baron  du  Potet  penetrated  far  into  the  mys- 
tery, but  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  understanding. 

Charcot  saw  very  clearly  the  depth  of  the  abyss, 
and  dared  not  face  it.  "Hypnotism,"  he  declared, 
"is  a  world  wherein  one  encounters  palpable,  mate- 
rial, gross  facts,  side  by  side  with  other  facts,  abso- 
lutely extraordinary,  and  inexplicable  at  present, 
following  no  physiological  law  and  wholly  strange 
and  surprising.  I  will  address  myself  to  the  first 
and  leave  the  latter  untouched." 

To-day,  however,  the  hour  to  study  these  latter 
facts  has  come.  Facts  accumulate,  extraordinary 
cases  are  recorded  by  competent  persons,  and  they 
prove  in  a  most  evident  manner,  that  the  bonds  which 
unite  the  soul  and  the  senses  are  not  indissoluble.  For 
example,  long  distance  sight,  reading  without  the  use 
of  the  eyes,  inversion  of  senses,  etc. 

As  early  as  1886,  Durand  de  Gros,  a  learned 
doctor,  and,  as  rarely  happens,  also  a  profound 
philosopher,  had  written  in  his  Physiologic  phttoso- 


10        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

phique:  "If  the  retina  were  developed  upon  the 
spiral  blade  of  the  cochlea  sonorous  vibrations 
would  replace  light  and  sounds  would  be  seen. 
Reciprocally,  if  the  acoustic  nerve  should  spread 
its  fibers  into  the  eye,  Iwnwnous  rays  would  become 
sounds." 

This  statement,  which  was  for  the  most  part  an 
intuition  of  genius  in  Dr.  Durand,  has  been  confirmed 
by  experience,  but  it  is  in  the  invisible  organism,  the 
psychic  body  that  such  inversions  may  be  produced, 
since  of  course  the  optic  and  acoustic  nerves  cannot 
be  substituted  one  for  the  other  experimentally.  Yet 
these  nerves  are  only  conductors  and  it  is  due  to 
their  purely  conductive  faculty  that  the  strange 
transposition  imagined  by  Durand  de  Gros  can  be 
accomplished. 

However  unlikely  that  may  seem,  it  is  true  never- 
theless, and  we  are  able  to  quote  a  competent  au- 
thority. Here  is  the  testimony  of  Lombroso : 

"In  1891  I  had  to  contend  in  my  medical  practice 
with  one  of  the  most  curious  phenomena  ever  pre- 
sented to  me.  I  was  called  upon  to  care  for  the 
daughter  of  a  high  official  of  my  native  city.  This 
young  person  was  often  seized  with  paroxysms  of 
hysteria,  with  accompanying  symptoms,  which 
neither  pathology  nor  physiology  could  explain.  At 
times,  her  eyes  lost  their  sight,  and  by  inversion, 
the  sick  girl  saw  with  her  ears.  With  bandaged  eyes, 
she  was  able  to  read  several  printed  lines  held  before 
her  ear.  We  placed  a  magnifying  glass  between  her 
ear  and  the  sunlight,  and  she  felt  a  burning  sensa- 
tion, crying  out  that  she  was  being  blinded.  She 
prophesied  in  detail,  with  mathematical  exactitude, 
everything  that  would  happen  to  her. 


THE  GREAT  PROBLEM  11 

"Although  these  facts  were  not  new,  they  were 
nevertheless  extremely  singular.  I  confess  that  to 
me,  at  least,  they  seemed  inexplicable  by  physio- 
logical or  pathological  theories  as  developed  up  to 
that  time.  ...  It  was  then  that  it  occurred  to  me 
that  perhaps  spiritism  might  aid  me  in  reaching  the 
truth."  x 

In  short,  the  conception  of  a  soul  independent  of 
the  body,  an  active  and  no  longer  a  function  soul, 
alone  might  solve  this  problem  to  which  no  material- 
istic conception  could  offer  a  solution. 

When  a  fact  of  this  kind  is  encountered,  there  is 
but  one  path  to  follow — abandon  the  obsolete  con- 
ceptions and  declare  frankly  that  physiology,  such 
as  taught  by  dogmatic  materialism,  will  always  be 
unable  to  explain  vital  movement. 

This  is  what  Lombroso  did  in  repudiating  the  old 
error. 

Why  then  do  so  many  others  close  their  eyes  that 
they  may  not  see?  We  must  confess,  it  is  because 
our  official  scholars  are  very  timid — they  are  afraid 
of  having  a  soul. 

Others  are  bravely  mistaken.  They  receive  the 
evidence  of  the  fact,  but  are  hampered  by  a  pre- 
conceived notion  at  the  very  basis  of  their  scientific 
education.  The  facts  are  absurd  in  the  face  of  their 
materialistic  faith;  they  are  absurd,  inasmuch  as  the 
soul's  existence  is  judged  absurd.  But  the  hypothe- 
sis of  the  soul  makes  these  facts  natural  and  explic- 
able, shows  the  bonds  which  unite  them,  and  strange 
to  say,  the  facts  thus  interpreted  accord  with  all  that 
we  know  of  experimental  science;  agree  with  all 

i  From  the  Italian  magazine  L' 'Arena,  translated  into  French 
by  Dr.  Dusart,  La  Revue  Scientifique  Morale  du  Spiritisme, 
Aug.,  1907. 


12        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

scientific  observations  which  they  admirably  explain 
and  complete. 

It  does  not  appertain  to  science  to  judge  matters 
of  the  soul  or  of  spiritualistic  philosophy.  These  are 
questions  beyond  its  province,  but  the  soul  gives  rise 
to  phenomena  of  animism,  which  at  the  present  time 
allude  every  theory  applicable  to  physical  phe- 
nomena. Therefore  it  is  the  part  of  science  to  dis- 
cover in  what  realm,  ethereal  or  other,  and  by  what 
theory,  undulatory  or  inductive,  might  be  explained 
the  phenomena  of  action  at  a  distance  and  of 
thought-transference. 

Above  all,  science  should  make  the  amends  honor- 
able to  the  animistic  fact  which  implies  the  existence 
of  a  force  which  science  has  always  denied;  for  one 
cannot  admit  the  exteriorization  of  sensorial,  motive, 
or  intellectual  faculties,  without  being  converted  to 
some  spiritualistic  idea. 

Materialists  understood  it  in  this  way  when  they 
opposed  every  phenomenon  of  action  at  a  distance 
with  the  argument  of  impossibility,  for  reasons 
which,  they  said,  they  alone  were  capable  of  appre- 
ciating. 

Action  at  a  distance — they  would  say  to  us,  pitying 
our  ignorance — simply  shows  us  that  and  your  name 
will  go  down  in  history,  more  renowned  than  Kepler 
or  Newton. 

Impossibility  has  become  proof.  The  names  of 
those  who  have  demonstrated  it  have  not  become 
great  in  history,  but  the  fact  has  become  familiar, 
and  has  been  christened  Animism. 

Animism,  so  called,  is  simply  the  manifestation  of 
the  psychic  body,  an  intermediary  agency  between 
mind  and  matter. 


THE  GREAT  PROBLEM  13 

We  cannot  state  that  it  acts  according  to  physical 
laws,  since  it  is  manifested  under  a  form  still  unknown 
to  science.  But  it  is  made  manifest,  and  that  is  the 
essential. 

The  data  we  shall  give  concerning  telepathy  are 
the  resume  of  forty  years'  experiments;  those  who 
have  carried  them  on  are  scholars  of  the  highest 
order.  The  facts  which  are  the  basis  of  our  demon- 
strations have  been  verified  or  accepted  by  them  after 
serious  investigations. 

Leaving  out  all  that  pertains  to  history,  tradition 
and  legend,  we  shall  endeavor  to  show  that  the  simple 
statement  of  observations  of  material  phenomena 
rests  upon  the  word  of  absolutely  competent  and 
credible  authorities.  Then  we  shall  see  how  the  or- 
ganic machine  conducts  itself  in  face  of  these  strange 
phenomena;  how  this  delicate  instrument  is  respon- 
sive to  influences  of  inward  or  outward  thought.  It 
is  this  sensitiveness  which  opens  the  door  to  certain 
means  of  occult  communication  and  makes  possible 
a  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  and  in  inspiration. 

Without  making  personal  hypotheses,  we  shall  set 
forth  those  statements  which  have  been  formulated 
upon  animistic  polyzoism. 

They  seem  to  correspond  strikingly  to  the  prob- 
lems of  the  constitution  of  the  human  soul  and  the 
evolution  of  beings,  at  the  same  time  according  with 
all  that  we  know  concerning  phylogenesis,  ontogene- 
sis and  embryology. 

Finally  we  shall  demonstrate  how  we  may  acquire 
the  certainty  of  after  life. 

This  conviction  scientifically  reached  cannot  but 
contribute  to  the  raising  of  morale,  need  of  which 
is  everywhere  felt.  In  scientific  research  lies  our 


14        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

sole  port  of  refuge.  Science,  accepting  only  demon- 
strations, does  not  hear,  does  not  comprehend  the 
language  of  faith.  The  facts  that  we  set  forth 
demonstrate  after  life. 

Briefly,  the  rational  basis  of  morale  would  be  in 
absolute  knowledge  of  the  after  life;  science  cannot 
reach  this,  but  it  can  attain  a  relative  knowledge, 
quite  sufficient  to  prove  the  presence  of  soul  in  na- 
ture; and  that  there  are  not  only  forces  but  also 
psychic  organisms. 

This  is  enough  to  cure  us  of  that  mental  malady 
which  causes  us  to  teach  that  in  the  human  body 
there  is  naught  else  but  the  functions  of  nutrition, 
circulation  and  respiration.  It  is  not  the  activity 
of  the  liver  and  the  spleen  which  causes  us  to  love 
the  true,  the  good  and  the  beautiful,  which  incites 
indignation  and  arouses  enthusiasm — these  are  indeed 
psychic  forces.  They  so  truly  exist  that,  through- 
out the  history  of  humanity,  they  have  always  tri- 
umphed over  the  satanic  forces  of  matter — it  is  these 
forces  that  won  the  battle  of  the  Marne. 

Let  us  then  seek  in  the  empiric  experiments  of 
animism,  clairvoyance  and  telepathy,  the  scientific 
weapon  with  which  we  may  combat  the  barbarous 
conception  of  materialism  that  was  leading  us  to  de- 
cadence. This  study  suffices  to  reinstate  spiritistic 
teaching.  Man  is  so  constituted  that  he  is  insensible 
to  arguments  that  do  not  touch  him  personally;  he 
can  only  adopt  a  morality  based  upon  knowledge 
of  his  destiny,  since  this  alone  will  overcome  his  in- 
curable egoism. 

He  must  know  that  his  happiness  or  unhappiness 
is  but  a  natural  consequence  of  the  direction  he  him- 
self has  chosen.  He  must  know  that  the  simple  tele- 


THE  GREAT  PROBLEM  15 

pathic  law  will  subject  him,  in  the  Beyond,  to  the 
severe  ordeal  of  confronting  the  lucidity  of  a  throng 
of  clairvoyant  souls  who  will  read  him  like  an  open 
book.  A  man's  evil  actions  will  then  become  the  in- 
strument of  his  own  torture.  When  he  can  no  longer 
endure  this  he  will  have  to  flee  the  society  of  these 
clairvoyant  souls,  seeking  solitude  and  shadows.  His 
final  escape  will  be  a  return — a  new  incarnation, 
which  will  be  a  new  ordeal. 

Here  is  something  to  move  our  egoism.  If  we 
are  able  to  demonstrate  that,  justly,  the  happiness 
of  each  is  jointly  and  severally  concerned  in  the  gen- 
eral progress,  if  we  are  all  responsible,  then  the 
strong  should  labor  to  raise  the  weak;  it  will  serve 
no  end  to  hate  them.  Thus  we  come,  by  simple 
knowledge  of  the  laws  of  evolution,  under  the  great 
law  of  Christ:  there  is  no  other  issue  save  to  love 
one  another  and  to  live  each  for  the  other.  That  is 
the  true  scientific  revelation,  which  gives  us  the  key 
to  a  solid,  practical  and  rational  moral  teaching. 


CHAPTER  II 
TELEPATHY 

The  action  of  one  being  upon  another  at  a  dis- 
tance, is  a  scientific  fact,  as  certain  as  the  ex- 
istence of  Paris,  Napoleon,  oxygen  or  Sirius. 

C.  FLAMMARIOK. 

ABOUT  1882,  a  committee  of  well-known  English- 
men, who  were  more  interested  in  intellectual  facts 
than  in  the  physical  phenomena  previously  studied 
by  Sir  William  Crookes  and  Russel  Wallace,  re- 
solved to  devote  scientific  study  to  thought-trans- 
ference. With  this  in  view,  they  founded  the  Society 
for  Psychical  Research.  Having  taken  all  precau- 
tions to  eliminate  any  possibility  of  a  code  of  in- 
genious signals  being  used,  they  were  convinced  of 
the  reality  of  thought-transference. 

In  the  first  volume  of  the  organ  of  this  society, 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 
will  be  found  the  reports  of  these  experiments,  with 
drawings  and  diagrams  that  give  an  idea  of  the 
results  obtained. 

In  1883  and  1884,  in  Liverpool,  Mr.  Malcolm 
Guthrie  discovered  two  sensitive  subjects  among  the 
employees  of  a  large  woolen  house,  and  began  a 
series  of  experiments  with  which  the  great  physician, 
Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  was  associated. 

Telepathic  action  is  to-day  a  verified  fact,  but  it 
is  also  true  that  it  remains  indefinable.  This  action 
10 


TELEPATHY  17 

from  a  distance  requires  an  intermediary,  but  no 
one  is  able  to  say  whether  this  intermediary  is  of  a 
physical  order.  The  inner  life  of  the  soul  rises  from 
a  region  unknown  to  science,  a  region  which  by 
hypothesis  or  for  convenience  of  speech  we  may  call 
the  psychic  element.  Yet  despite  this,  and  what- 
ever it  may  be,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  soul  can- 
not be  made  manifest  to  this  material  world  except 
by  means  of  a  physical  expression. 

Telepathic  action  would  be  incomprehensible  and 
even  inconceivable  if  there  were  not,  in  the  ether, 
a  dynamic  element  that  holds  all  being  in  its  embrace. 

It  is  only  by  the  intermediary  of  this  element 
that  the  relations  between  body  and  soul  may  be 
explained,  more  especially  the  telepathic  communi- 
cations which  experience  and  repeated  observations 
have  forced  us  to  admit. 

Telepathy  is  the  universal  phenomenon  diffused 
throughout  the  world,  the  one  phenomenon  uniting 
all  human  beings  and  reaching  as  well  to  matter  in 
which  it  calls  forth  life. 

Existent  in  the  cosmos  is  an  element  which  is  to 
the  life  of  the  soul,  what  oxygen  is  to  physical  life. 
The  effects  of  this  upon  ourselves  we  shall  observe. 

The  first  experimenters  declared  that,  if  spon- 
taneous telepathy  gave  the  results  of  which  we  have 
many  witnesses,  there  must  be  some  faculty  in  man, 
even  if  it  be  but  a  germ,  which  it  must  be  possible 
to  control. 

It  was  M.  Charles  Richet,  I  believe,  who  first  en- 
deavored to  establish  the  matter  mathematically  by 
applying  the  experiments  to  the  divinations  of  num- 
bers in  the  mind  of  another;  he  obtained  only  rather 
inconclusive  results. 


18        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

In  1886,  the  Misses  Wingfield  used  Dr.  Richet's 
method,  but  limited  the  experiment  to  a  number  con- 
sisting of  two  figures,  from  ten  to  ninety-nine.  Two 
thousand,  six  hundred  and  fourteen  trials  gave  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  successful  results;  the 
average  probability  would  have  been  only  twenty- 
nine. 

Four  hundred  trials  of  another  series,  whose  prob- 
ability would  have  been  four,  gave  twenty-seven  suc- 
cessful results. 

Enlarging  the  field  of  experiments,  Mr.  Guthrie 
of  Liverpool  conceived  the  idea  of  trying  the  trans- 
ference of  sensations  of  taste,  smell  and  touch. 
Messrs.  Gurney  and  Myers  tasted,  smelled  and 
touched  while  the  mediums  R and  E diag- 
nosed their  sensations. 

But  the  most  decisive  result  obtained  was  re- 
corded through  visual  sensations.  The  first  trials 
in  this  class  were  due,  I  believe,  to  the  initiative  of 
Mr.  Rawson.  They  consisted  in  obtaining  the 
graphic  reproduction  of  a  very  simple  design,  such 
as  a  triangle,  ring  or  flower.  These  experiments 
were  successfully  taken  up  by  Mr.  Guthrie,  repeated 
on  the  Avenue  de  Villiers  by  M.  Schmoll  and  ob- 
served anew  by  Lombroso  and  many  other  psy- 
chologists; briefly,  they  are  now  incontestable. 

In  all  these  trials,  the  drawings  have  been  repro- 
duced with  an  exactitude  that  leaves  no  doubt  of 
the  transmission  of  picture.  Nevertheless  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  percipient  does  not  always  see  the 
picture  traced  upon  the  model,  but  that  he  is  struck 
by  the  idea  sent  to  him  by  the  Agent;  this  is  per- 
ception of  an  active  thought. 

In  this  way  a  ring  traced  flat  upon  the  paper; 


TELEPATHY 


10 


o.  i 


20        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

was  drawn  in  perspective;  a  foot  drawn  bare  was 
represented  with  a  shoe  in  the  replica;  a  hand  is 
indeed  reproduced,  but  not  in  the  same  position, 
etc.  Therefore  we  cannot  attribute  these  results  to 
the  sensitiveness  of  lower  centers. 

It  is  the  normal  and  conscious  sensitiveness  which 
registers  this  kind  of  perception ;  also  the  experiment 
demands  a  severe  effort  upon  the  part  of  the  per- 
cipient and  greatly  fatigues  him. 

We  would  also  mention  the  attempts  of  Com- 
mandant Darget  which  tended  to  prove  that  the 
emission  of  a  thought  would  have  enough  objective 
force  to  make  an  impression  upon  a  photographic 
plate.  He  has  made  many  communications  upon 
this  subject  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences.  All  psy- 
chists  know  of  the  films  representing  the  bottles 
photographed  by  Commandant  Darget's  thought- 
radiation. 

But  let  us  return  to  telepathy.  Images  perceived 
by  the  brain  are  often  rather  vague ;  those  are  much 
clearer  which  are  obtained  when  the  agent  succeeds 
in  influencing  the  lower  organs,  whose  response,  in 
this  case,  becomes  purely  automatic.  Yet  this  kind 
of  experimentation  cannot  be  undertaken  except 
with  the  aid  of  specially  endowed  subjects.  We  have 
valuable  examples  of  it  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

In  1871,  during  a  period  of  eight  months,  Mr. 
Newnham  carried  on  a  series  of  experiments  through 
the  mediumship  of  his  wife,  with  whom  he  was  able 
to  communicate  automatically. 

An  exchange  of  questions  and  replies  was  made 
by  the  indirect  way  of  a  motive  center,  which  set 
in  movement  Mrs.  Newnham's  hand,  without  her 


TELEPATHY  21 

having  the  least  consciousness  of  the  questions  ad- 
dressed to  her  or  the  answers  which  she  made.  Her 
husband's  questions  were  never  formulated,  even  in 
a  low  voice;  he  wrote  them  with  a  pencil  well  out 
of  reach  of  her  glances. 

In  the  course  of  his  long  experiments  the  replies 
were  always  in  accord  with  the  questions  and  we 
must  note  the  important  fact  that  five  or  six  ques- 
tions were  often  put,  one  after  the  other,  without 
Mrs.  Newnham's  knowing  of  what  they  treated. 

Thus,  there  was  no  communication  of  thought — 
only  movement  was  communicated.  Mr.  Newnham 
made  three  hundred  and  nine  of  these  experiments. 
We  will  cite  the  following: 

"At  that  time,"  recounts  Mr.  Newnham,  "I  had 
a  young  man  studying  with  me  as  a  private  pupil. 
On  the  12th  of  February  he  returned  from  his  vaca- 
tion, having  heard  of  our  experiments,  and  expressed 
his  incredulity  in  a  rather  rough  fashion.  I  told 
him  that  he  might  try  whatever  proof  he  desired, 
with  this  reserve  alone,  that  I  should  see  the  question 
he  put. 

"In  consequence  of  this,  Mrs.  Newnham  took  her 
place  in  my  study  in  her  accustomed  armchair  while 
we  retired  into  the  living  room  and  closed  the  door 
behind  us.  That  done,  the  young  man  wrote  upon 
a  piece  of  paper,  'What  is  my  eldest  sister's  first 
name?'  We  returned  immediately  to  the  desk  where 
the  answer  already  awaited  us — 'Mina.'  It  is  the 
familiar  abbreviation  of  the  name  Wilhelmina.  I 
assure  you  this  was  completely  unknown  to  me." 

This  last  remark  of  the  professor  has  little  im- 
portance, the  value  of  the  experiment  lies  in  the  fact 


22        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

that  a  secondary  center  received,  from  a  strange 
thought,  movement  and  direction  without  passing 
through  the  central  conscientiousness  of  the  medium. 

In  space,  it  is  unimportant  whether  the  motive 
agent  should  have  been  the  husband's  thought,  that 
of  the  young  man,  or  the  thought  of  an  unknown 
entity. 

This  so-called  telepathic  phenomenon  acts  in  us 
constantly  without  in  the  least  attracting  our  at- 
tention. In  this  way  we  are  in  telepathic  communi- 
cation with  all  our  organs. 

We  also  take  no  note  of  the  telepathic  action 
which  is  translated  to  us  by  inspiration.  Who  is 
able  to  affirm  whether  he,  himself,  is  the  author  of 
a  brilliant  idea  or  of  an  obsession? 

Who  is  sure  of  being  the  author  of  his  own  ideas? 
From  a  thousand  obscure  sensations,  from  reservoirs 
of  our  memory,  we  create  within  ourselves  combina- 
tions which  we  call  our  thought,  but  we  have  only 
made  manifest  a  synthesis  of  sensations  already  re- 
ceived which  have  come  to  us  from  sources  of  which 
we  know  nothing. 

But  we  are  able  to  affirm  that  exterior  thought 
flows  in  upon  us  in  a  more  direct  fashion,  and  we 
are  able  to  say  this  from  the  observations  which 
have  been  made.  This  influence  can  be  localized; 
sometimes  it  reaches  the  brain  directly  and  that 
seems  natural.  Sometimes  it  flows  directly  into 
secondary  centers  and  that  seems  incredible,  super- 
natural. The  lower  centers  act,  in  this  case,  ac- 
cording to  the  normal  process  known  to  them  alone, 
for  they  perceive  telepathically,  being  like  ourselves 
incapable  of  determining  whence  the  perception  comes 
to  them.  It  is  this  which  gives  rise  to  automatisms. 


TELEPATHY  23 

It  is  in  observing  ourselves  and  in  observing  the 
automatisms  whose  source  we  have  been  able  to 
control,  that  it  has  sometimes  been  possible  to  de- 
termine the  origin  of  the  phenomena.  As  these 
sources  are  exterior,  it  is  perfectly  certain  to-day 
that  thought,  emotion,  and  desire  may  influence  at 
a  distance  either  the  brain  or  the  sense  organs.  We 
shall  quote  some  examples. 

CASE  IN  WHICH  THE  BRAIN  Is  DIRECTLY  INFLUENCED 

This  is  the  case  to  which  one  pays  the  least  atten- 
tion, because  it  is  the  conscious  ego  which  perceives 
this  kind  of  influence,  and  the  ego  deliberates  whether 
it  will  accept  or  reject  the  influence.  Therefore  the 
case  is  apparently  normal. 

The  following  is  one  of  numerous  examples  taken 
from  the  collection  entitled  Telepathic  Hallucina- 
tions. 

Mr.  A.  Skirving,  master-mason  of  the  Winchester 
Cathedral,  made  the  following  deposition: 

"I  was  working  in  Regents  Park  for  Messrs. 
Mowlen,  Burt  and  Freeman,  who  at  this  time  had  a 
contract  with  the  government  for  all  the  masonry 
work  of  the  Capitol.  I  think  it  was  at  Gloucester 
Gate — in  any  case,  it  was  at  that  gate  in  Regent's 
Park  to  the  west  of  the  Zoological  Gardens  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  Park.  The  distance  from 
my  house  was  too  great  for  me  to  return  for  lunch 
so  I  carried  my  dinner  with  me  and  for  that  reason 
I  had  no  need  to  leave  my  work  during  the  day. 

"One  day,  however,  I  suddenly  felt  an  intense 
desire  to  return  to  my  house.  As  I  had  nothing  to 
do  there,  I  tried  to  rid  myself  of  this  wish  but  it 


24        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

was  impossible.  The  obsession  to  return  home  grew 
from  moment  to  moment,  but  it  was  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning  and  there  was  nothing  which  should 
have  called  me  from  my  work  at  that  hour.  I  grew 
restless  and  ill  at  ease  and  felt  that  I  should  go, 
even  at  the  risk  of  being  laughed  at  by  my  wife; 
I  could  give  no  reason  for  leaving  my  work  and 
losing  six  pence  an  hour  for  a  stupid  impulse. 
However,  I  could  not  rest.  Finally  I  went  home, 
moved  by  an  urging  which  I  could  not  resist. 

"When  I  reached  the  door  of  my  house,  I  knocked 
and  my  wife's  sister  opened  it.  She  was  a  married 
woman  who  lived  several  streets  farther  away.  She 
looked  surprised  and  said  to  me,  'Well,  Skirving, 
how  did  you  know?'  'Know  what?'  I  answered. 
'Why,  about  Mary  Ann?'  'I  know  nothing  about 
Mary  Ann'  (my  wife).  'Then,  what  is  bringing  you 
back  at  this  hour?'  And  I  answered  her,  'I  can 
hardly  tell  you,  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  was  needed 
here  at  home.  But  what  has  happened?'  Then  she 
told  me  that  a  cab  had  run  over  my  wife  about  an 
hour  ago  and  that  she  had  been  seriously  hurt.  She 
had  not  ceased  calling  for  me  since  her  accident  and 
had  several  violent  crises.  I  hurried  up  the  steps 
and  although  she  was  very  ill  she  recognized  me 
at  once.  She  held  out  her  arms  to  me,  wound  them 
about  my  neck  and  pressed  my  head  to  her  breast. 
The  crisis  passed  immediately,  and  my  presence 
calmed  her  visibly ;  then  she  slept  and  was  better. 
Her  sister  told  me  that  she  had  uttered  heart-rending 
cries  to  call  me  to  her  although  there  was  not  the 
least  probability  that  I  would  come.  This  brief 
story  has  but  one  merit;  it  is  strictly  true." 

ALEXANDER  SKIEVING. 

The  action  produced  upon  a  brain  at  a  distance 
and  by  an  exterior  agent  becomes  even  more  evident 


TELEPATHY  25 

when  two  separated  persons  simultaneously  obey  the 
same  impulse. 

Here  is  a  case  given  by  a  physician,  Dr.  Ede  of 
Guilford: 

Lady  G.  and  her  sister  had  passed  the  evening 
with  their  mother,  who  was  in  her  usual  health, 
physically  and  mentally,  at  the  time  of  their  de- 
parture. In  the  middle  of  the  night  Lady  G.'s  sister 
awoke,  greatly  frightened,  and  said  to  her  husband, 
"I  must  go  at  once  to  my  mother — please  have  the 
carriage  called.  I  am  sure  that  she  is  ill." 

Her  husband,  after  having  vainly  tried  to  per- 
suade his  wife  that  it  was  only  imagination,  sum- 
moned the  carriage.  When  she  drew  near  her 
mother's  house,  at  the  point  of  intersection  of  two 
streets,  she  saw  Lady  G.  approach  in  her  carriage. 

Each  sister  asked  the  other  why  she  was  there 
and  each  gave  the  same  reply,  "I  could  not  sleep, 
feeling  sure  that  mother  was  ill.  That  is  why  I 
returned." 

When  they  reached  the  house,  they  saw  at  the 
door  their  mother's  personal  maid  and  learned  from 
her  that  their  mother  had  been  taken  ill  suddenly. 
She  was  dying  and  had  expressed  an  ardent  wish  to 
see  her  daughters.1 

There  are  hundreds  of  classic  examples  whicli  I 
might  cite.  The  following  is  from  the  investigation 
of  M.  C.  Flammarion  in  his  book: 

L'Inconnu  et  les  problemes  psychiques. 
(The  Unknown  and  Psychic  Problems.) 

27th  Case:  My  great  Aunt,  Mme.  de  Thiriet, 
feeling  that  she  was  dying,  appeared,  four  or  five 
hours  before  her  death,  to  be  meditating  deeply. 

i  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research.  (After 
the  pamphlet  by  Ed.  Bennet.) 


26        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

"Are  you  in  greater  pain?"  asked  the  lady,  who 
told  me  this  incident.  "No,  my  dear,  but  I  have 
just  called  Midon  for  my  burial." 

Midon  was  a  woman  who  had  served  her,  and  who 
lived  at  Eulmont,  a  village  10  kilometers  from  Nancy, 
where  Mme.  Thiriet  was  living.  The  lady  who  was 
present  during  her  last  moments  thought  that  she 
was  dreaming.  But  two  hours  later  this  lady  was 
astounded  at  the  arrival  of  Midon  with  black  gar- 
ments in  her  arm.  She  said  that  she  had  heard 
Madame  call  her  to  attend  her  deathbed  and  render 
the  last  services. 

A.  D'AEBOIS  DE  JTJBAINVILLE,  Retired  Custodian 
of  Waters  and  Forests,  Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor  at  Nancy. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  case  the  agent  was 
conscious  of  the  telepathic  action  produced  upon  the 
subject. 

THE  SENSE  ORGANS  PERCEIVE  TELEPATHICALLY 

In  the  relations  of  the  brain  with  the  organs 
telepathy  acts  visibly.  Man  communicates  with  his 
sensory  organs,  such  as  the  visual  and  auditory 
centers. 

Automatism  and  hallucination  might  be  easily  ex- 
plained as  the  awakening  in  special  centers  of  a 
sensation  unknown  to  us.  Strangers  as  we  are  to 
the  inmost  perceptions  of  these  small  lower  centers 
of  consciousness,  we  are  fully  aware  that  a  sensa- 
tion, known  only  to  them  and  awakened  in  them 
without  our  knowledge,  reaches  us  telepathically, 
and  creates  in  us  the  identical  interpretation  what- 
ever may  be  the  cause  of  the  excitation  of  the  organ. 


TELEPATHY  27 

In  other  words,  if  a  memory  is  capable  of  arousing 
a  sensation  in  these  lower  centers,  we  are  not  cap- 
able ourselves  of  distinguishing  this  sensation  from 
that  transmitted  by  the  same  organ  when  it  is  in 
the  presence  of  the  real  image.  We  have  thus  an 
illusion  that  is  like  reality. 

It  is  doubtless  a  modified  image,  as  the  picture 
produced  upon  a  photographic  plate  differs  from 
nature.  But  in  the  consciousness  of  the  percipient 
this  image  is  real  and  sufficiently  similar  to  be  sent 
to  the  spectator  in  the  manner  of  a  motion  picture 
projection. 

Experience  and  numerous  observations  of  this 
phenomena  determine  that  telepathy  reaches  not 
only  the  brain,  but  is  quite  capable  under  certain 
conditions,  still  unknown,  of  reaching  the  psychic 
element  directly  in  its  secondary  centers  of  conscious- 
ness. From  this  it  follows  that  the  ego  is  greatly 
surprised  to  receive  thus  indirectly  an  image  which 
it  has  never  seen,  or  to  execute,  automatically,  ac- 
tions which  are  beyond  the  reach  of  its  knowledge. 
That  would  seem  to  belie  the  axiom  Nihil  in  intellectu 
quod  non  prius  fuerit  in  sensu. 

This  proves  quite  simply  that  the  sense  organs 
can  be  impressed  by  a  foreign  influence.  The  trans- 
mitted image  impresses  itself  first  upon  the  secondary 
center  and  from  there  enters  the  consciousness  of 
the  percipient. 

Thus  telepathy  explains  not  only  hallucinations, 
but  also  suggestions  come  from  without,  automat- 
isms, etc. 


38        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

CASE  IN  WHICH  TELEPATHY  REACHES  THE  VISUAL 

SENSE 

This  case  is  recorded  in  the  February  number, 
1901,  of  the  Journal  of  the  Society  of  Psychical 
Research,  told  by  Mr.  David  Fraser  Harris,  Lec- 
turer at  the  University  of  St.  Andrew. 

I  quote  from  the  magazine: 

A  few  years  ago,  pressing  business  prevented 
my  returning  home  to  London  at  the  end  of  the 
week,  and  as  I  did  not  care  to  spend  Sunday  in 
Manchester,  I  went  on  the  Saturday  afternoon  to 
Matlock  Bath  with  the  intention  of  spending  a  quiet 
Sunday  there,  and  returning  by  an  early  train  on 
Monday  morning.  On  arrival  at  my  destination,  a 
small  private  hotel  not  very  far  from  Matlock  Bath 
Station,  I  immediately  ordered  tea  and  went  to  the 
sitting  room  to  warm  myself  as  it  was  a  raw,  cold 
day  in  January  with  a  lot  of  snow  about  and  the 
temperature  many  degrees  below  freezing  point. 

I  happened  to  be  the  only  visitor  at  the  hotel, 
and  I  made  myself  comfortable  in  a  large  easy 
chair  before  a  cheerful  fire,  waiting  for  my  tea.  It 
was  hardly  light  enough  to  see  to  read.  My  back 
was  turned  to  the  window  and  I  was  not  thinking 
of  anything  in  particular;  I  was  in  a  kind  of 
passive,  tranquil  mood,  when  suddenly  I  seemed  to 
become  oblivious  to  my  surroundings  and  in  the 
place  of  the  dark  wall  and  the  pictures  facing  me, 
I  saw  the  front  of  my  house  in  London  with  my  wife 
standing  at  the  door  talking  to  a  working  man  who 
held  a  large  broom  in  his  hands.  My  wife  had  a 
very  concerned  look,  and  I  felt  sure  that  the  man 
was  in  great  distress.  I  could  not  and  did  not  of 
course  hear  what  was  spoken,  but  a  strong  intuition 


TELEPATHY  99 

told  me  that  the  man  was  asking  my  wife's  assistance. 
At  that  moment  the  servant  entered  the  room  with 
my  tea  and  the  scene  I  had  just  visualized  van- 
ished, and  I  again  realized  where  I  was.  I  was, 
however,  so  strongly  impressed  and  so  convinced  of 
the  reality  of  what  I  had  seen  that  after  tea  I  wrote 
a  letter  to  my  wife  telling  her  of  the  strange  oc- 
currence and  asking  her  to  make  inquiries  about 
the  man  and  to  assist  him  as  much  as  possible. 

What  had  actually  occurred  was  this:  A  boy 
knocked  at  the  door  of  my  house  (which  is  roughly 
140  or  145  miles  away  from  where  I  was)  and  asked 
the  servant  whether  he  might  sweep  the  snow  away 
from  the  pavement  and  doorway  for  a  penny. 
Whilst  the  boy  was  speaking,  a  poorly  clad  and  ill- 
looking  man  came  and  said,  "Please  let  me  sweep 
away  the  snow;  this  boy  very  likely  will  only  spend 
the  penny  in  sweets,  while  I  want  it  for  bread.  I 
have  a  wife  and  four  children  all  ill  at  home;  we 
have  no  food  and  not  even  a  fire,  and  nothing  more 
to  pawn,  and  we  owe  rent."  The  servant  asked 
the  man  to  wait  while  she  told  my  wife.  When  she 
came  to  the  door  and  spoke  to  him  the  man  re- 
peated his  statement  to  her,  and  added  that  he  was 
a  painter  out  of  work  and  had  been  ill  and  that  he 
and  his  family  were  in  great  distress,  but  that  he 
did  not  want  to  go  to  the  workhouse  for  relief  if 
he  could  only  get  work  of  some  kind. 

It  was  this  scene  that  I  witnessed  at  the  very 
moment  it  happened  and  which  was  probably  com- 
municated to  me  through  the  impression  the  man's 
distress  made  upon  my  wife's  mind. 

The  rest  of  the  story  is  simply  this:  My  wife 
told  the  man  she  would  call  at  his  home  in  the  course 
of  the  afternoon  and  see  what  could  be  done.  This 
she  did  and  found  that  the  man  had  told  the  truth. 
She  at  once  helped  the  poor  family  with  money, 


30        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

clothing,  food  and  fuel,  and  needless  to  say  was 
very  much  astonished  when  she  received  my  letter 
on  Monday  morning  which  told  her  what  I  had  seen. 
A  few  days  afterwards,  I  saw  the  man  and  in- 
stantly identified  him  as  the  man  I  had  seen  in  my 
strange  vision.  He  subsequently  obtained  a  situa- 
tion as  milk  man  and  for  about  a  couple  of  years 
regularly  called  m  our  neighborhood  with  a  milk 
barrow. 

This  is  an  example  of  what  telepathy  may  accom- 
plish in  reaching  the  visual  sense.  By  this  means 
an  image  which  has  never  previously  been  placed 
before  a  subject  may  be  present  itself  to  him. 

However,  it  must  be  noted  that  the  action  pro- 
duced upon  the  secondary  center  is  not  exclusive 
of  that  always  vaguer  action  which  tends  towards 
the  brain.  Thus,  in  the  preceding  case,  we  see  that 
the  husband  in  telepathic  communication  with  his 
wife  sees  the  same  picture  that  is  visible  to  her,  a 
perfectly  defined  picture,  equivalent  to  a  flash  of 
reality,  since  it  photographs,  so  to  speak,  the 
features  of  the  person.  But  at  the  same  time,  the 
percipient's  brain  was  impressed  by  something  very 
strong  which  gave  him  an  intuition  of  what  the  un- 
fortunate man  was  asking.  That  which  I  wish  to 
emphasize  here  is  that  telepathic  action,  exerted 
upon  the  secondary  centers,  is  clear  and  precise, 
while  it  is  vague  and  confused  when  addressed  to 
the  principal  sense  in  which  it  can  only  arouse  in- 
tuition. 

Another  fact  to  be  noted  is  the  feeling  of  cer- 
tainty inspired  in  those  who  have  received  similar 
perceptions.  Lady  G.  and  her  sister  were  so  firmly 
convinced  that  it  was  indeed  their  mother  who  called 


TELEPATHY  31 

them  that  they  went  through  the  unwonted  proceed- 
ing of  summoning  their  carriages  at  midnight.  The 
mason  of  Winchester  reasoned  and  struggled  in  vain 
against  a  seemingly  irrational  desire,  and  yielded 
despite  the  apparent  absurdity  of  his  determination. 
But  a  person  who  does  not  analyze  her  feelings,  like 
the  maid  Midon,  does  not  even  perceive  that  she  is 
the  object  of  a  phenomenon — she  has  felt  a  reality 
and  responds:  "Madame  called  me  and  I  am  here." 
On  the  other  hand,  a  person  of  high  culture,  the 
Lecturer  of  St.  Andrew,  experienced  so  little  doubt 
that  he  wrote  immediately  to  his  wife  to  gather  in- 
formation upon  the  subject  of  this  man,  apparition 
of  whom  he  did  not  attribute  to  a  dream. 

Naturally,  all  the  cases  of  abnormal  visions  are 
not  telepathic.  Certain  apparitions  are  due  to 
images  really  present.  For  the  moment,  however,  we 
shall  not  go  beyond  telepathy. 

CASE  IN  WHICH  TELEPATHY  REACHES  THE 
AUDITOEY  SENSE 

The  following  case  is  taken  from  Camille  Flam- 
marion's  book,  Ulnconnu  et  les  Problemes  Psy- 
chiques,  p.  140: 

Mme.  A.,  mother  of  the  person  who  told  me  this 
story,  had  had  in  her  service  for  several  years  a 
maid  to  whom  she  was  deeply  attached.  The  woman 
married  and  went  to  make  her  home  upon  a  farm, 
rather  far  from  the  little  town  where  Mme.  A.  lived. 

One  night  she  awoke  suddenly  and  said  to  her 
husband:  "Listen!  do  you  hear?  Madame  is  call- 
ing me!"  But  everything  was  calm  and  silent  and 
her  husband  tried  to  quiet  her.  After  a  few  mo- 


S3        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

ments  the  poor  woman,  growing  more  and  more 
agitated,  declared:  "I  must  go  to  Madame,  she  is 
calling  me,  I  am  sure  that  I  should  go."  But  her 
husband,  still  believing  her  under  the  influence  of  a 
bad  dream  laughed  at  her,  and  after  a  short  while 
she  grew  calm  again. 

The  next  day  her  husband  upon  going  to  town 
learned  that  Mme.  A.,  taken  suddenly  ill  on  the 
previous  evening,  had  died  in  the  night  and  while 
dying  had  called  for  her  former  maid  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  latter  had  heard  the  voice  of  her 
mistress. 

SUZANNE  H. 
Paris  (Letter  362). 

It  would  be  useless  to  multiply  examples;  never- 
theless, as  one  might  bring  up  the  easy  explanation 
of  an  imaginary  summons,  which  by  a  strange  coin- 
cidence was  found  to  correspond  with  reality,  we 
will  cite  one  fact  more. 

It  is  found  in  a  series  which  disposes  of  this  ob- 
jection. In  this  case  the  words  which  were  heard 
by  another  at  a  distance  were  actually  spoken  by 
the  agent  in  the  presence  of  a  witness. 

The  following  case  is  of  this  kind: 

L'Ineonnu,  XXXIH. 

On  the  22nd  of  January,  1893,  I  was  called  by 
telegraph  to  my  aunt,  92  years  old,  who  had  been 
ill  for  several  days.  Upon  my  arrival  I  found  my 
dear  aunt  dying  and  unable  to  speak.  I  took  my 
place  at  her  bedside  to  remain  with  her  to  the  end. 
About  ten  o'clock  at  night,  as  I  was  seated  beside 
her  in  a  chair,  I  heard  her  call  out  with  surprising 
strength :  "Lucie !  Lucie !  Lucie !"  I  sprang  up  and 
saw  that  my  aunt  had  lost  consciousness,  and  I 


TELEPATHY  S3 

heard  the  death-rattle  in  her  throat.     Ten  minutes 
later  she  drew  her  last  breath. 

Lucie  was  another  niece  and  my  aunt's  godchild 
who  did  not  come  to  visit  her  often  enough,  as  she 
frequently  complained  to  the  nurse. 

The  next  day  I  said  to  my  cousin  Lucie:  "You 
must  have  been  greatly  surprised  to  receive  the  tele- 
gram announcing  our  aunt's  death."  But  she  re- 
plied :  "Not  at  all.  I  was  somewhat  expecting  it.  Last 
night  about  ten  o'clock,  when  I  was  sleeping  soundly, 
I  was  awakened  suddenly  by  having  my  aunt  call 
me,  'Lucie !  Lucie !  Lucie !'  and  I  could  not  sleep 
for  the  rest  of  the  night." 

This  is  the  fact  which  I  declare  to  be  true,  asking 
you  to  use  only  my  initials  if  you  publish  it,  for  the 
city  where  I  live  is  composed,  for  the  most  part,  of 
futile,  ignorant,  hypocritical  people. 

P.  L.  B.  (Letter  47.) 

Telepathy  sometimes  affects  several  centers  at 
once,  as  sight  and  hearing.  For  example,  there  is 
the  case  of  Mrs.  Richardson,  who,  when  she  had  an 
exact  apparition  of  her  husband  wounded  upon  the 
battlefield,  also  heard  and  recognized  his  voice,  say- 
ing, "Take  this  ring  from  my  finger  and  send  it 
to  my  wife,"  words  which  the  general  had  indeed 
spoken.  Richardson  was  more  than  250  kilometers 
from  her. 

This  is  reported  in  Telepathic  Hallucinations,  the 
forty-seventh  case,  and  is  surrounded  by  all  the 
guarantees  required  in  a  serious  investigation. 

CASE  IN  WHICH  TELEPATHY  REACHES  THE  TACTILE 
SENSE 

In  the  most  usual  case,  there  exists  a  certain  sym- 
pathy at  a  distance,  as  when  a  blow  or  wound  is 


34        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

distinctly  felt  by  a  parent  or  friend  of  the  agent  at 
the  very  moment  when  the  latter  is  struck. 

We  find  an  excellent  example  of  this  in  Telepathic 
Hallucinations,  case  CXXII,  reported  by  Mrs. 
Severn  (p.  40). 

Brantwood,  October  27,  1883. 

I  awoke  suddenly,  feeling  that  I  had  received  a 
violent  blow  upon  the  mouth.  I  had  the  distinct 
sensation  of  having  been  out  of  doors,  and  that  I 
was  bleeding  above  my  upper  lip. 

Sitting  up  in  bed  I  seized  my  handkerchief, 
crumpled  and  pressed  it  against  the  wounded  spot. 
A  few  seconds  later,  in  removing  it,  I  was  greatly 
surprised  to  see  no  trace  of  blood.  I  realized  only 
then  that  it  was  impossible  that  anything  could  have 
struck  me,  for  I  had  been  lying  in  my  bed  and  sleep- 
ing soundly.  ...  I  thought  I  had  merely  been 
dreaming.  But  I  looked  at  my  watch,  and  seeing 
that  it  was  seven  o'clock  and  that  Arthur  (my  hus- 
band) was  not  in  the  room  I  concluded  rightly  that 
he  had  gone  out  for  an  early  morning  sail  on  the 
lake  as  the  weather  was  fine. 

Then  I  once  more  fell  asleep.  We  breakfasted  at 
nine-thirty.  Arthur  came  in  a  little  late  and  I 
noticed  that  he  sat  farther  from  me  than  usual 
and  from  time  to  time  unobtrusively  put  his  hand- 
kerchief to  his  lips  as  I  myself  had  done. 

"Arthur,"  I  said  to  him,  "why  do  you  do  that?" 
and  then  added,  somewhat  disturbed,  "I  know  you 
have  hurt  yourself,  but  I  will  tell  you  afterwards 
how  I  know." 

"Well,"  he  began,  "when  I  was  in  the  boat  just 
now,  a  sudden  puff  of  wind  came  up  and  the  tiller 
struck  me  on  the  mouth.  I  received  a  violent  blow 
on  the  upper  lip,  which  has  bled  a  great  deal,  and 
I  could  not  stop  the  blood." 


TELEPATHY  85 

Then  I  said,  "Have  you  any  idea  at  what  time 
that  happened?"  "It  must  have  been  about  seven 
o'clock,"  he  answered.  I  then  told  him  what  had 
happened  to  me,  and  he  was  greatly  astonished  as 
were  all  the  persons  who  were  breakfasting  with  us. 

This  occurrence  took  place  at  Brantwood  about 
three  years  ago. 

JOAN  R.  SEVEBN. 

CASE  IN  WHICH  TELEPATHY  REACHES  THE  SENSES 
OF  TASTE  AND  SMELL 

These  cases  are  naturally  much  less  numerous,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  the  senses  of  smell  and  taste 
are  not  the  ordinary  agencies  of  our  relations. 

However,  we  are  certain  that  telepathy  is  a  uni- 
versal phenomenon  and  that  none  of  our  senses  are 
refractory  to  this  means  of  communication.  In  the 
first  place  several  experiments  have  yielded  con- 
vincing evidence  and  in  the  second,  we  have  examples 
spontaneously  observed.  We  cite  only  the  follow- 
ing: 

Telepathic  Hallucinations,  p.  327. 

January  26,  1885. 

In  March,  1861,  I  was  living  at  Houghton  Hants. 
My  wife  who  had  delicate  bronchial  tubes  was  kept 
in  the  house  at  this  season.  One  day,  as  I  was 
rambling  along  a  path  bordered  by  hedges,  I  found 
the  first  wild  violets  of  the  spring  and  gathered  the 
flowers  to  carry  them  to  my  wife. 

At  the  beginning  of  April  I  felt  seriously  ill  and 
in  June  left  the  country.  I  had  never  told  my  wife 
exactly  where  I  found  the  violets  and,  for  the  reason 
mentioned,  I  had  not  for  many  years  walked  with 
her  in  the  place  where  I  gathered  the  flowers. 


36        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

In  November,  1873,  we  were  at  Houghton  with 
some  friends;  my  wife  and  I  took  a  little  stroll  in 
this  path.  On  crossing  the  place  a  memory  of  the 
spring  violets  I  had  plucked  over  twelve  years  before 
suddenly  came  into  my  mind.  After  the  usual  in- 
terval of  about  twenty  or  thirty  seconds  my  wife 
remarked.  "It  is  strange,  but  if  it  were  not  im- 
possible, I  would  declare  that  I  smell  violets  in  the 
hedge." 

I  had  not  spoken,  nor  made  the  least  gesture  or 
movement  to  indicate  the  subject  of  my  thoughts, 
and  the  perfume  of  the  violets  had  not  come  into 
my  memory.  The  only  thing  of  which  I  had  thought 
was  the  place  where  the  violets  grew  upon  the  bank. 
I  have  an  extremely  exact  memory  of  places. 

Such  are  the  facts ;  we  might  multiply  examples 
for  each  of  these  series,  for  the  documentation  has 
become  extremely  rich  since  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research  has  gathered  together  the  material,  and 
similar  investigations  have  been  undertaken  by  those 
scholars  who  were  willing  to  interest  themselves  in 
these  phenomena. 

It  follows  that  among  all  human  beings  there  is 
a  possibility  of  transference  of  all  sensations  in 
general,  and  particularly  of  thought,  at  a  great 
distance  and  that  images  thus  transmitted  are  not 
illusory.  In  other  words,  telepathy  can  no  longer 
be  denied.  Aside  from  this,  there  exist  certain 
phenomena  which  seem  also  to  produce  objective 
images,  where  there  is  an  absence  of  all  objectivity. 
We  shall  see  that  there  is  no  way  of  confusing  these 
with  the  preceding  telepathic  cases. 


CHAPTER  III 
ORGANIC    DISORDERS 

What  indeed  is  this  demon  that  ravages  our 
organs  with  the  swiftness  of  lightning  and  the 
power  of  thunder?  It  is  an  idea — a  simple  idea. 

DURAND    DE    GllOS. 

THE  physiologic  process  which  creates  false 
images  within  us  does  not  differ  greatly  from  that 
which  transmits  telepathic  images.  But  the  distinc- 
tion between  telepathy  and  hallucination  is  so  easy 
to  establish  that  it  is  strange  that  cultivated  minds 
have  confused  such  different  effects,  even  to  the 
point  of  explaining  the  former  by  the  latter  and 
attributing  to  both  the  same  origin. 

Telepathy  is  authentic.  Hallucination  is  false. 
Telepathy  enters  our  being  by  no  known  material 
way ;  hallucination  enters  by  the  usual  channel  of  the 
senses. 

Telepathy  comes  from  an  actual  outward  source ; 
hallucination  wells  up  within  ourselves. 

Finally  telepathy  appears  in  quietude  and  medita- 
tion, and  oftenest  in  connection  with  intimate  cir- 
cumstances, and  is  never  repeated. 

Hallucination,  on  the  contrary,  is  manifested  in 
excitement  and  persists  or  is  subject  to  reappear- 
ance. 

In  the  cases  we  have  given  above,  which  are  as- 
suredly attributable  to  exterior  agencies,  it  was 
always  found  that  the  percipient  had  never  had 
37 


38        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

similar  visions  nor  hallucinations  of  any  kind.  The 
image  never  reappears  after  the  moment  when  the 
agent  is  supposed  to  have  exerted  his  influence.  If 
there  is  repetition,  it  is  to  overcome  the  resistance 
of  the  percipient  when  he  refuses  to  let  himself  be 
convinced;  afterwards  the  obsession  disappears. 

The  telepathic  actions,  of  which  we  have  related 
several  examples,  present  none  of  the  characteristics 
of  hallucinations  induced  by  organic  disorders,  and 
elude  all  the  definitions  quoted  by  Briere  de  Bois- 
mont. 

De  Boismont  only  observed  effects  produced  by 
organic  disorders,  although  he  reports  some  which 
certainly  have  their  foundation  in  telepathy,  but  he 
makes  no  distinction  between  them.  The  vapors  of 
an  overheated  brain  suffice  to  explain  everything  for 
him,  and  even  when  he  finds  himself  facing  a  true 
case  of  apparition,  it  is  still  with  the  theory  of  the 
overheated  brain  that  he  finds  his  way  out. 

If  he  had  been  better  acquainted  with  the  facts, 
he  would  not  have  generalized  as  he  did;  indeed  the 
examples  he  cites  and  analyzes  assume  a  character- 
istic which  is  lacking  in  apparitions;  it  is  the  per- 
manence of  morbid  states. 

It  is  always  possible  to  ascertain  the  cause  of 
hallucinations,  they  are  due  to  fatigue,  fright,  fixed 
idea,  or  alcoholism.  This  type  is  common  in  the 
quotations  of  B.  de  Boismont.  Here  is  one  taken 
at  random: 

Obs.  130.  A  little  girl,  nine  or  ten  years  old,  had 
spent  her  birthday  in  company  with  several  other 
children,  in  giving  herself  over  to  all  the  amusements 
of  her  age.  Her  parents,  of  very  narrow  religious 
views,  had  constantly  told  her  stories  of  the  devil, 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  39 

hell  and  eternal  damnation.  That  evening,  upon 
entering  her  bedroom,  the  devil  appeared  and  threat- 
ened to  devour  her.  She  uttered  a  loud  cry,  fled 
into  her  parents'  room  and  fell  at  their  feet  as 
though  dead.  A  doctor  was  called  and  restored  her 
to  consciousness  after  several  hours.  The  child  then 
told  what  had  happened  to  her,  adding  that  she 
was  certain  of  being  damned.  The  occurrence  was 
immediately  followed  by  a  long  and  serious  nervous 
illness. 

This  type  of  apparition  was  formerly  very  fre- 
quent. Dr.  Macario,  in  his  Clinical  Studies  upon 
Demonimania  expresses  the  opinion  that  this  form 
of  madness  is  common  among  the  provincial  mentally 
deranged,  which  he  attributes  to  the  fact  that  mate- 
rialism has  not  become  as  deeply  rooted  in  French 
soil  as  one  might  believe. 

"Dread  of  the  devil,"  declares  de  Boismont  (p. 
134),  "and  fear  of  future  punishment  once  exercised 
a  powerful  influence  upon  the  mind.  In  the  space 
of  six  years  we  observed  about  fifteen  cases  in  our 
establishment." 

The  fixed  idea  also  may  create  apparitions  of  the 
deceased.  In  this  category  fall  the  hallucinations  of 
criminals  pursued  by  their  victims.  Among  other 
cases,  Briere  de  Boismont  cites  that  of  Manoury, 
who  had  been  guilty  of  the  most  egregious  barbarism 
toward  Urbain  Grandier. 

Obs.  124.  One  evening,  toward  ten  o'clock, 
Manoury,  returning  from  a  visit  to  a  patient  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  walking  with  a  friend 
and  his  brother,  suddenly  cried  out,  "Oh,  there  is 
Grandier !  What  do  you  want  with  me  ?"  He  began 
to  tremble  and  fell  into  a  frenzy  from  which  his 


40         PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

two  companions  could  not  restore  him.  They  led 
him  home,  trembling  and  speaking  to  Grandier  whom 
he  believed  he  still  saw. 

During  the  few  days  that  he  lived,  his  state  was 
unchanged.  He  died,  always  believing  that  Grandier 
was  present  and  striving  to  ward  off  his  approach 
while  uttering  terrible  speeches. 

The  distinctly  marked  characteristic  of  hallucina- 
tion is  this  persistence  or  repetition  of  the  disturb- 
ance; and  is  an  attribute  lacking  in  telepathic 
visions. 

"Sully,"  continues  Briere  de  Boismont,  "relates 
that  the  lonely  hours  of  Charles  IX  became  frightful 
because  of  the  repetition  of  moans  and  shrieks  that 
assailed  his  ears  during  the  massacre  of  Saint 
Bartholomew." 

If  now  we  wish  to  consider  apparitions,  as  ob- 
served to-day,  we  will  find  that  they  are  always 
presented  opportunely  and  in  quiet.  This  is  not  the 
case  with  hallucinations.  If  the  latter  can  be  ex- 
plained by  illness,  remorse,  fright,  etc.,  the  former 
are  never  due  to  similar  causes.  We  find  their  in- 
contestable source  in  a  telepathic  action,  distinct 
from  cerebral  activity  each  time  that  it  is  possible 
to  trace  back  to  the  sources. 

It  seems  to  us,  then,  that  we  should  apply  the 
word  hallucinations  only  to  those  images  which  have, 
for  the  deluded  one,  the  same  value  as  the  objects, 
and  which  are  internal  in  their  origin.  Another  word 
is  needed  to  designate  the  image  transmitted  by 
the  telepathic  channel,  that  is  to  say,  conveyed  from 
an  exterior  source. 

True  hallucination  always  has  an  internal  cause; 
popular  language  instinctively  words  it  thus:  "To 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  41 

put  the  thought  on  yourself,"  and  this  phrase  ex- 
presses it  exactly. 

The  thought  put  on  oneself  is  a  self-created  illu- 
sion, a  sort  of  auto-suggestion  which  incites  hal- 
lucination. As  a  result  of  dwelling  too  much  upon 
the  devil,  one  ends  by  causing  him  to  appear. 

But  it  should  be  well  understood  that  all  of  this 
may  be  explained  by  telepathy.  We  must  not  forget 
that  there  are  within  us  unknown  psychic  centers, 
which  under  the  stress  of  emotion  become  creators 
of  images.  These  psychic  centers  are  qualified  to 
perceive  telepathic  sensations,  whether  they  be  con- 
veyed from  our  own  brain  or  from  an  outside  brain, 
and  the  difference  is  non-essential. 

Ordinarily  these  centers  communicate  telepathic- 
ally  with  us  or  at  least  we  are  only  conscious  of 
those  images  which  we  transmit  to  them,  and  of 
those  to  which  we  make  a  telepathic  appeal  in  the 
operations  of  memory.  The  new  phenomenon,  which 
to-day  is  verified,  is  that  these  secondary  centers  can 
be  reached  from  external  sources  without  our  being 
conscious  of  the  fact. 

Since  telepathic  action  is  a  universal  phenomenon, 
there  is  no  smallest  physiological  center  which  has 
not  of  its  own  consciousness  and  sensitiveness,  and 
which  does  not  perceive  the  effects  of  our  thought. 
Consequently,  a  man  tormented  by  a  fixed  idea,  by 
remorse  or  fear,  for  instance,  deeply  affects  these 
tiny  organs,  impressing  thereon  the  creations  of  his 
thought.  In  them  is  produced  an  image  or,  rather, 
a  sensation,  analogous  to  that  which  exists  when 
the  individual  is  in  the  presence  of  a  real  image. 

By  reason  of  the  intensity  or  persistence  of  the 
image  created  under  force  of  a  strong  emotion,  the 


42        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

secondary  center  holds  this  deeply  cut  image,  and 
it  only  requires  an  occasion  to  arouse  it,  as  a 
memory,  in  order  to  produce  the  appearance  of 
reality. 

Thus  one  would  understand  the  psychologic 
automatism  obedient  to  its  own  activities,  reviving 
the  image  when  the  emotion  recalls  it,  and  sending 
it  back  in  the  manner  of  a  cinematographic  projec- 
tion, to  the  brain  of  its  creator. 

It  is  thus  that  we  might  accept  the  theory  of  the 
overheated  brain  as  an  explanation  of  certain  phe- 
nomena. But  how  may  we  apply  the  hallucination 
theory  to  images  which  are  transmitted  by  others 
and  arise  from  realities?  They  act  but  feebly  upon 
the  organs  which  are  not  habitually  influenced  at  a 
distance.  Few  subjects  are  capable  of  receiving 
them  and  usually  it  is  an  accident  which  happens 
but  once  in  the  lifetime  of  a  percipient.  These 
images  are  true,  because  the  emotions  which  aroused 
them  are  not  feigned.  However,  some  mesmerists 
boast  of  having  thus  transmitted  fictitious  images. 
From  this  they  have  drawn  absurd  conclusions  which 
to  their  minds  explain  the  illusion  of  spirits.  But 
these  experiences,  if  they  could  be  taken  up  again 
experimentally,  would  prove  only  one  thing:  that 
thought-transference  is  perfectly  true;  if  the  mes- 
merist succeeded  in  deceiving  the  medium  with  a 
fictitious  image,  he  would  have  been  equally  able  to 
transmit  a  true  one.  From  this  the  proof  follows 
that  minds  can  communicate,  and  whether  they  be 
of  the  living  or  the  dead  is  of  no  importance.  We 
have  before  us  a  fact — there  is  a  psychic  element, 
and  we  should  study  this  unknown  element. 

Organic   disorders    affect   not   only   the    sensory 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  43 

organs ;  far  more  extraordinary  are  the  disturbances 
manifested  in  the  motive  centers.  Without  doubt, 
from  the  moment  we  admit  there  is  no  smallest 
physiologic  center  without  its  own  consciousness  and 
activity,  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  spontaneous 
psychic  action  of  the  lower  strata.  Conceive  a  sort 
of  psychic  traumatism,  some  cause,  physiological  or 
otherwise,  intercepting  the  communication  between 
the  little  souls  below  and  the  unity  that  rules  above ; 
telepathic  transmission  being  once  interrupted,  each 
physiological  center  regains  its  independence. 

It  is  these  abnormal  states  which  initiate  auto- 
matic actions,  and  particularly  the  phenomenon 
known  under  the  name  of  "automatic  writing." 

When  we  produce  writing,  the  motive  centers 
which  receive  our  suggestions  remain  perfectly  un- 
aware of  the  current  of  our  thought;  they  execute 
only  movements,  and  the  motion  they  produce  is 
outside  of  our  personal  consciousness.  Thus  I  do 
not  need  to  know  the  special  locations  of  the  motive 
centers,  to  act  upon  them.  I  dictate  the  succession 
of  letters,  without  being  cognizant  of  the  manner  in 
which  my  organism  obeys  me.  If  this  organism  is 
left  to  itself,  and  receives  no  further  suggestion 
from  without,  since  it  is  living  it  itself,  it  has  a 
tendency  to  activity.  It  is  reduced  to  its  sole  con- 
sciousness, that  of  movement,  and  produces  the  only 
movements  known  to  its  feeble  memory — down 
strokes,  letters  in  incoherent  succession — and  phy- 
siologists refuse  to  admit  phenomena  of  a  higher 
order. 

It  is  true  that  organic  disorders  produce  inco- 
herent, childish  or  cryptic  effects.  But  side  by  side 
with  these  are  stupefying  results,  necessitating  the 


44        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

active  intervention  of  an  understanding,  inquiring 
intelligence  that  informs  us  of  facts  concerning 
which  we  had  no  knowledge.  Therefore,  here  as 
before,  we  are  obliged  to  admit  two  different  motive 
powers  for  the  same  phenomenon. 

We  are  then  obliged  through  empiric  demonstra- 
tion to  establish  two  classes  of  phenomena :  1.  Those 
which  are  due  to  awakening  of  unconscious  activi- 
ties. 2.  Those  due  to  intelligences  awake  of  them- 
selves, but  remaining  unconscious  for  the  subject 
who  produces  them. 

Or  better:  1.  Incoherent  movements  from  an  in- 
ternal source.  2.  Coordinated  movements  from  an 
external  source. 

This,  as  may  be  seen,  is  the  distinction  that  we 
have  already  stated  between  hallucinations  and  tele- 
pathic phenomena  which  reach  the  sense  organs,  and 
it  applies  equally  well  to  the  same  phenomenon  cap- 
able of  reading  the  motive  organs. 

If  we  now  pass  from  handwriting  to  the  observa- 
tions of  general  disorders,  we  will  fall  into  such  an 
abyss  of  complications.  I  do  not  wish  to  treat  the 
subject  here,  but  solely  to  indicate  its  nature.  It 
is  a  question  of  manifestations  of  different  person- 
alities which  are  sometimes  present  in  the  same 
organism  and  appear  now  as  a  division  of  person- 
ality^ now  as  the  true  possession  of  all  the  organs, 
fallen  under  the  power  of  a  foreign  influence. 

The  soul  is  complex,  its  unity  exists  only  in  re- 
lation with  the  individual  who  knows  himself  in  what 
is  called  his  ego.  But  the  psychic  realm  is  com- 
posed of  a  multitude  of  little  souls  whose  mass  is 
divisible  and  in  which  a  certain  disorder  is  mani- 
fested. 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  45 

A  man  may  be  seen  under  two  very  different 
aspects;  a  professor  of  mathematics  in  his  class 
room  reveals  only  a  part  of  himself;  he  forgets 
momentarily  all  that  is  not  related  to  his  special 
subject.  But  perhaps  outside  of  his  class  he  may 
be  a  good  musician;  his  family  will  see  him  oftener 
under  the  aspect  of  a  violinist.  Suppose,  now,  that 
as  the  result  of  an  accident,  this  man  has  lost  all 
memory  of  music ;  he  remains  only  a  mathematician, 
and  if  you  speak  to  him  of  his  violin  he  does  not 
understand  you,  he  has  never  even  played  one.  But 
at  the  end  of  several  days  the  memory  of  the  musi- 
cian returns  and,  on  the  other  hand,  mathematics 
is  forgotten.  Such  is  the  aspect — I  do  not  say 
explanation — but  it  is  the  aspect  under  which  a 
certain  known  phenomenon,  called  division  of  per- 
sonality, is  presented. 

But  it  also  may  happen,  that  a  somnambulistic 
state  may  be  revealed,  during  which,  as  an  actor 
plays  a  role,  the  subject  embodies  with  marvelous  suc- 
cess the  type  of  personality  that  may  be  proposed 
bo  him.  However,  this  effort  does  not  bear  examina- 
tion, because  the  subject  keeps  to  generalities  and  is 
always  incapable  of  giving  evidence  of  special  knowl- 
edge. 

But  a  new  personality  appears  who  knows  no  one 
of  those  present,  whose  social  condition  is  different, 
and  who  shows  that  he  possesses  certain  knowledge 
which  by  no  possible  hypothesis  could  be  attributed 
to  the  somnambulistic  subject.  He  seems,  therefore, 
possessed  by  an  influence  foreign  to  himself.  It  is 
a  phenomenon  often  presented  by  Mrs.  Piper  in  a 
state  of  trance.  To  this  the  Society  for  Psychical 


46        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

Research  has  devoted  several  large  volumes  of  its 
annals. 

Let  us  assume  that  an  experiment  made  by  com- 
petent authorities,  however  inexplicable  it  may  be, 
becomes  a  truth,  empirically  stated,  which  suffices  to 
admit  it  as  a  basis  of  future  deductions.  The  case 
is  inexplicable  physiologically,  yet  remains  a  truth 
valuable  to  retain. 

But  to  repeat,  we  fall  here  into  an  abyss  of  com- 
plexity; it  seems  sometimes  that  a  partial  amnesia 
occasions  in  the  subject  the  effacement  of  an  entire 
period  of  his  existence  and  yet,  what  is  more  aston- 
ishing, there  is  nothing,  aside  from  that  to  indicate 
a  disordered  condition  in  the  person.  He  is  unaware 
that  he  does  not  remember. 

Thus  an  educated  and  carefully  reared  person  falls 
into  a  trance,  from  which  he  awakens  with  a  changed 
character  and  with  no  recollection  of  his  previous 
condition.  He  no  longer  knows  his  intimate  friends, 
his  writing  even  is  changed;  in  short,  he  is  another 
person.  A  new  crisis  occurs  and  he  awakes  in  his 
first  state,  entirely  ignorant  of  the  second  state  from 
which  he  has  just  come. 

Dr.  Azam  of  Bordeaux,  I  believe,  observed  a  case, 
which  has  become  classic,  in  the  person  of  Felida, 
whose  changes  of  personality  were  manifested 
throughout  many  years.  Almost  each  day  an  attack 
seized  her  and  another  person  would  appear,  igno- 
rant of  the  song  she  had  just  sung  before  the  crisis, 
unable  to  continue  the  needlework  that  she  held  in 
her  hand.  It  became  necessary  for  her  family  to  put 
her  in  touch  again  with  her  work,  in  her  new  state. 

Becoming  pregnant  in  her  second  state,  she  was 
absolutely  unaware  of  it,  in  returning  to  her  first 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  47 

t' 

state.     Felida  II  had  a  little  dog  of  which  she  was 
very  fond;  Felida  I  drove  it  away  as  an  intruder. 

Despite  all  the  appearances  of  a  possession,  one 
may  see,  in  these  phenomena,  the  alternation  of  a 
personality,  of  which  each  role  embraces  but  one 
period  of  time  in  the  subject's  life.  For  example, 
Felida  I  might  possess  only  the  memories  of  her 
girlhood,  while  Felida  II  would  only  know  what 
had  taken  place  after  a  certain  date.  We  shall  not 
seek  to  explain  this  appearance  of  alternating  life, 
but  merely  mention  it. 

There  are  numberless  cases  of  division,  in  which 
the  subject  relives  periods  of  his  past  existence  and 
each  period  brings  with  it  the  corresponding  morbid 
states.  Occasionally  we  see  a  subject  who  has  been 
extremely  nearsighted  and  obliged  to  wear  glasses, 
enjoying  excellent  sight  in  one  of  these  states. 
Finally,  this  change  in  intellect,  memory  and  moral- 
ity remains  a  mystery,  unexplained  by  physiology, 
and  one  which  psychology  is  still  far  from  elucidat- 
ing. 

The  Alcan  Publishing  House  brought  out  in  1911  * 
the  French  translation  of  the  case  of  Miss  Beau- 
champ.  Several  personalities  were  manifested  in  this 
subject  of  Dr.  Prince.  Aside  from  the  normal  per- 
sonality, we  find  three  others,  differing  in  ideas, 
belief  and  temperament.  Memories  are  also  distinct 
for  each  personality. 

Therefore  there  are  four  personalities.  The  first, 
Miss  Beauchamp,  splendidly  endowed  and  studious, 
suffers  a  nervous  shock,  to  which  the  doctor  attrib- 
utes the  appearance  of  the  disorders  which  followed. 
1  La  Dissasociation  d'une  Personalite,  by  Morton  Prince, 
translated  into  French  by  Renee  J.  Ray  and  Jeaa  Ray,  Felix 
Alcan,  Paris,  1911. 


48        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

The  second,  B2,  is  only  Miss  Beauchamp  put  into 
an  hypnotic  state  by  Dr.  Prince,  who  is  perhaps 
wrong  in  considering  B2  as  a  personality  of  the 
same  nature  as  the  others. 

The  third,  B3,  seems  the  incarnation  of  a  malicious 
spirit,  who  takes  possession  of  the  organs  of  Bl  in 
order  to  live  in  a  borrowed  body  and  who  thus  deeply 
troubles  her  existence. 

The  fourth,  B4,  represents  another  enigmatic 
character,  which  is,  perhaps,  only  a  division  of  Bl, 
in  a  state  of  personal  diminution  B4  represents  an 
ordinary  woman,  less  refined  than  Bl,  a  frivolous 
woman,  living  for  herself. 

In  reality,  there  are,  from  our  point  of  view,  only 
two  new  persons.  The  somnambulistic  state  is  well 
known  and,  we  believe,  has  no  great  relation  with 
the  mysterious  entities  which  are  present.  The  mes- 
merized subject  is  incontestably  a  new  form  of  the 
subject,  a  new  state  of  her  ego. 

We  cannot  make  the  same  statement  concerning 
B2  and  B4,  who  present  themselves  as  foreign  influ- 
ences. 

B3  received  the  name  of  Sally,  and  is  a  problem. 
She  plays  no  part,  she  seems  a  distinct  entity  come 
into  the  body  to  amuse  herself  at  her  victim's  ex- 
pense, a  parasite  who  wishes  to  enjoy  life  and  sub- 
stitute herself  for  Miss  Beauchamp,  while  profiting 
by  the  latter's  terrestrial  relations. 

She  differs  from  the  other  personalities  in  that 
the  doctor,  while  treating  his  subject  by  hypnotism, 
can,  at  pleasure,  bring  Miss  Beauchamp  to  the  state 
of  B3  or  B4,  but  he  can  neither  call  upon  nor  expel 
Sally,  who  resists  his  suggestions.  Indeed,  it  is  often 
she  herself  who  makes  the  suggestions;  in  her 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  49 

struggle  against  the  doctor,  she  suggests  to  Miss 
Beauchamp  to  understand  quite  the  opposite  of 
whatever  he  may  be  saying  to  her. 

Thus  the  life  of  Miss  Beauchamp  alternates  be- 
tween three  different  conditions,  which  render  her 
existence  all  the  more  difficult,  as  the  doctor  who 
hypnotizes  her  seems  not  to  have  acquainted  her  con- 
nections with  these  changes.  We  can  understand  the 
forlorn  existence  of  one  who,  knowing  nothing  of  her 
periods  of  absence,  awakens  in  an  unknown  place, 
talking  with  people  whom  she  does  not  know,  or  at 
least  perceiving  that  she  is  not  in  touch  with  the 
questions  under  discussion,  and  who  keeps  apart, 
wondering  always  if  she  is  not  going  mad. 

But  Sally  is  a  veritable  little  demon;  unknown  to 
Miss  Beauchamp,  and  possessing  all  her  organs,  she 
writes  letters,  and  makes  appointments.  We  may 
imagine  the  astonishment  of  poor  Bl  who  finds  these 
inexplicable  letters  and  believes  herself  possessed  of 
the  devil !  One  thing  alone  moves  Sally,  the  fear  of 
losing  this  body  which  she  abuses.  The  thought  that 
the  death  of  Miss  Beauchamp  would  deprive  her  of 
her  pleasures,  makes  her  slightly  more  reasonable. 
Therefore  she  made  a  compact  with  the  doctor,  who 
had  been  unable  to  command  her. 

Naturally,  a  professor  of  pathology  of  the  nerv- 
ous system  would  put  forth  the  thesis  that  there  is 
no  distinction  to  be  made  among  these  several  per- 
sonalities, all  of  which  he  considers  as  divisions  of 
the  ego.  However,  I  should  like  to  present  some 
objections  in  behalf  of  the  unity  and  indivisibility  ofi 
the  human  being,  which  theory  it  seems  is  rather 
lightly  handled,  when  similar  cases  are  treated. 

The  different  aspects  of  the  ego  do  not  necessarily 


50        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

pertain  to  division.  Mons.  de  Roches  has  distinctly 
shown  in  his  studies  upon  the  regression  of  memory, 
that  the  same  subject,  carried  back  by  hypnotism 
through  previously  lived  years,  is  seen  under  vary- 
ing aspects  and  with  different  characteristics.  Here, 
however,  there  is  neither  change  nor  dissociation  of 
personality;  there  is  return  to  a  former  state,  dif- 
fering greatly  from  the  present  state,  by  reason  of 
his  changed  life  and  progress  of  his  education.  Here 
is  nothing  to  lead  one  to  infer  a  division  of  the  ego. 

B4,  one  of  the  personalities  who  appeared,  is, 
according  to  Dr.  Prince,  a  person  of  this  kind,  seized 
with  an  amnesia  that  veils  from  her  for  the  time  being 
an  entire  period  of  her  life.  The  subject  takes  up 
her  life  when  she  was  eighteen  years  old,  and  is 
unaware  of  all  that  Miss  Beauchamp  has  accom- 
plished and  learned  since  then.  Therefore  there  is 
no  change  in  the  ego.  There  are  the  same  will,  emo- 
tion and  sensibility  that  live  and  move  in  a  group 
of  images  and  recollections  common  to  both  person- 
alities up  to  the  eighteenth  year,  but  which  differ 
from  the  moment  when  B4  manifests  a  lapse  of 
memory. 

That  is  why  I  feel  I  should  be  reserved  in  this 
war  of  words  which  discourses  so  freely  upon  the 
dissociation  of  the  ego. 

Until  now  we  have  called  this  central  seat  of  con- 
scious life  which  manifests  itself  as  an  indivisible 
entity,  the  ego. 

If  It  is  used  in  another  sense,  it  is  necessary  to 
warn  the  reader.  Arms  and  legs  have  nothing  in 
common  with  the  ego,  and  I  confess  that  I  do  not 
understand  this  hypothesis  of  dissociation. 

When  one  speaks  of  a  division  of  the  ego,  it  ap- 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  51 

pears  to  me  senseless;  tHe  subconscious  ego  itself 
seems  to  be  nonsense;  subconsciousness,  simply,  suf- 
fices for  me.  The  subconsciousness  which  acts  un- 
known to  a  conscious  subject  is  not  himself,  since  by 
himself,  I  mean  his  conscious  part.  In  short,  I  have 
need  of  a  comprehensible  hypothesis,  and  I  cannot 
allow  discussion  of  an  ego  that  is  outside  of  myself. 
My  subconsciousness  is  the  under-being,  beyond  my 
consciousness. 

To  express  an  hypothesis  upon  dissociation, 
there  must  be  clarity  of  image.  If  the  ego  should 
be  considered  as  a  part  of  the  material  being,  dis- 
sociation would  be  none  other  than  a  traumatic 
nervous  affection,  causing  local  paralysis.  If  it 
belongs  to  the  psychic  center  which  is  self-cognizant, 
it  is  indivisible.  In  the  first  case,  there  can  only  be 
a  mutilation  of  the  being,  and  the  parts  are  less  than 
the  whole;  in  the  second,  there  can  be  but  alterna- 
tions of  the  personality. 

In  the  case  of  Miss  Beauchamp,  certain  persons 
speak  ingenuously  of  the  coexistence  of  several  egos 
forming  the  different  personalities.  This  recalls  the 
mystery  of  the  Trinity,  according  to  which  there  are 
three  Gods  in  One  Person,  each  co-equal. 

Let  us  admit  that  the  course  of  life  is  an  aggre- 
gate of  ideas  and  memories  that  form  strata,  as  a 
tree  whose  years  are  counted  by  the  rings,  but  this 
aggregate  is  distinct  from  the  ego.  It  is  only  in 
conceiving  the  subject  as  in  touch  with  several  of 
these  concentric  strata,  that  I  can  create  for  myself 
an  objective  representation  of  what  a  change  of 
personality  might  be. 

Thus  we  may  imagine  the  life  of  Miss  B.  as  con- 
centric circles  representing  the  years  she  has  lived 


52        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

and  we  shall  see  that  B4  is  only  the  subject  herself, 
presenting  a  lapse  of  several  years. 

As  for  the  artificial  states,  obtained  through  hyp- 
notism, we  should  not,  I  believe,  consider  them  as  per- 
sonalities. The  problem,  as  concerning  Miss  B.,  is 
truly  more  complex  and  offers  so  strange  an  assem- 
blage, that  we  may  well  imagine  that  a  foreign  mani- 
festation has  been  introduced  among  the  other  phe- 
nomena. B3,  called  Sally,  is  not  explicable  by  a 
redoubling  of  the  ego,  a  formula  which  presents 
nothing  tangible  to  the  imagination.  In  order  to 
express  a  concrete  thought  it  was  necessary  to 
imagine  groups  of  states  of  consciousness,  which 
would  have  created  a  second  ego  unknown  to  the 
first.  But  these  dissociated  states  cannot  create  a 
being  ex  nihilo,  without  the  affinity  of  the  conscious 
ego. 

By  dissociation,  we  understand  a  group  of  iso- 
lated images ;  the  noise  of  the  street  that  strikes  our 
ear  without  attracting  our  attention,  a  detail  me- 
chanically observed,  while  the  mind  is  busy  elsewhere 
— these  are  images  which  may  survive  in  our  subcon- 
sciousness  in  the  state  of  dissociation.  Yet  these 
images  must  rise  to  the  higher  consciousness,  else 
they  are  as  though  dead;  such  a  group  of  memories 
cannot  animate  itself  to  the  point  of  creating  a  new, 
even  though  an  artificial,  personality.  Is  Sally  fac- 
titious? All  the  personalities  of  Miss  B.  may  be 
alternating  states  of  a  single  ego,  all  save  Sally.  To 
call  her  the  alter  ego  of  Miss  B.,  as  does  Dr.  Prince, 
is  to  lay  the  problem  but  not  to  solve  it.  Sally 
affirms  her  independence  by  her  acts  and  Miss  B., 
when  in  a  state  of  hypnotic  lucidity,  declares:  "We 
are  all  the  same  person,  except  Sally." 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  53 

Dr.  Prince  refuses  to  admit  Sally,  but  she  has 
diabolical  tricks  and  ruses.  Herself  rebellious  to 
suggestion,  it  is  she  who  imposes  her  will  upon  Miss 
Beauchamp,  by  means  of  hypnotic  and  post-hypnotic 
suggestions.  She  follows  her  whims,  writing  letters 
which  she  posts,  smoking  cigarettes  to  annoy  her 
medium,  whose  reserve  and  scruples  she  detests. 
Finally  she  wastes  her  money,  destroys  her  bank 
notes,  and  treats  Miss  Beauchamp  as  a  stupid  victim. 

When  Miss  B.  is  in  her  normal  state,  Sally  is 
always  there,  as  an  exterior  witness  who  later  will 
be  in  touch  with  all  her  acts.  In  the  same  way  Sally 
is  aware  of  whatever  the  other  personalities  do.  The 
others,  on  the  contrary,  are  nonexistent  and  incapable 
of  knowing  what  Miss  B.  has  done  in  her  normal 
state.  By  means  of  her  knowledge,  Sally  endeavors 
sometimes  to  conceal  her  coming  and  tries  to  play 
the  part  of  Miss  B. ;  but  as  she  has  not  the  same 
education  the  doctor  unveils  her  ruse  by  causing  her 
to  speak  French.  Sally,  who  does  not  know  French, 
seeing  herself  caught,  bursts  into  laughter  and  ex- 
hibits her  true  colors,  greatly  pleased  with  the  joke. 

Sally  can  even  recount  dreams,  which  fact  proves 
that  she  exists  or  coexists,  at  the  time  of  the  me- 
dium's conscious  activity.  Another  peculiarity 
which  distinguishes  her  from  the  other  personalities 
is  that  physiologically  she  adopts  herself  with  dif- 
ficulty to  the  organs.  Having  much  trouble  to  speak, 
she  stammered  terribly  in  the  beginning;  once  she 
demanded  the  use  of  her  eyes  and  opened  the  lids 
with  her  hands.  She  declares  that  this  body  is  en- 
tirely foreign  to  her,  as  a  garment,  and  that  within 
it  she  feels  no  illness,  neither  fatigue,  hunger  nor 
thirst. 


54        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

The  following  is  an  example  of  the  incarnations 
of  Sally.  On  Christmas  Eve  Miss  B.  was  at  Church, 
seated  on  the  right  side  of  the  nave.  The  choir  was 
singing  the  processional.  Suddenly  she  found  herself 
on  the  left  side  and  the  choir  still  singing  the  pro- 
cessional. Twenty-four  hours  had  passed  for  her 
like  twenty-four  seconds;  Sally  had  confiscated  her 
and  brought  her  back  the  next  day  to  the  spot  where 
she  had  been  seized.  Sally  had  profited  by  the  invi- 
tations sent  to  Miss  B.,  taken  to  herself  all  the 
Christmas  pleasures,  and  had  enjoyed  herself 
greatly. 

There  are  other  and  even  better  illustrations. 
Once,  when  Miss  B.  was  in  the  throes  of  the  most 
violent  delirium,  Sally  intervened,  absolutely  in  her 
right  mind,  consented  to  be  her  nurse,  and  came  at 
intervals  to  swallow  the  food  or  medicine,  which  the 
patient,  in  her  delirium  could  not  take. 

The  lucid  mind  appearing  at  the  same  time  as  the 
delirious  state,  is  one  of  the  facts  which  prove  the 
presence  of  two  distinct  entities.  It  is  impossible  to 
conceive  of  the  ego  thus  severed  in  half. 

The  conception  that  we  have  of  an  ego  will  not 
permit  us  to  imagine  the  simultaneousness  of  these 
two  contrary  states  in  a  single  unity.  To  declare 
that  Miss  B.  and  Sally  act  under  the  influence  of 
a  single  ego  is  to  say  there  are  two  egos  of  the 
same  person,  which  is  accepting  words  whose  mean- 
ing is  inconceivable. 

It  was  easy  to  speculate  concerning  the  arbitrary 
divisions  of  personality,  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  give 
them  an  appearance  of  reality;  Sally  is  too  large  a 
part  to  have  been  detached  from  the  principal  con- 
sciousness of  Miss  B.  without  the  latter  having  been 


ORGANIC    DISORDERS  55 

diminished;  the  disintegration  of  Miss  B.'s  person- 
ality into  so  many  small  parts  is  purely  arbitrary. 
Sally  does  not  find  her  place  in  this  scheme.  No 
ego  is  found  to  which  she  is  akin,  and  the  mystery 
has  not  been  elucidated.  It  is  true  we  cannot  say 
that  she  is  a  spiritual  entity  of  the  nature  of  those 
who  give  proofs ;  but  there  is  here  a  mysterious  entity 
which  might  have  been  studied  with  profit.  Here  we 
have  the  manifestation  of  a  foreign  activity,  whose 
secret  lies  in  the  unknown.  All  this  proves,  at  least, 
the  existence  of  a  new  world,  which  has  not  as  yet 
been  sufficiently  explored. 


CHAPTER  IV 
PREVIOUS  LIVES 

I  am  thine  invisible  sister,  I  am  thy  divine  soul, 
and  this  is  the  book  of  thy  life.  Within  it  are  the 
pages  filled  with  thy  past  existences  and  the  white 
pages  of  thy  future  lives. 

(The  Book  of  the  Dead) 
Funeral  Ritual  of  the  Egyptians. 

THE  soul  is  an  entity  distinct  from  the  body;  it 
accompanies  the  essential  part  of  the  human  being 
in  the  course  of  the  numerous  incarnations  necessary 
to  our  evolution.  From  the  time  of  Plato  the  ma- 
jority of  men  have  lived  in  the  knowledge  of  this 
truth,  and  to-morrow  they  will  dwell  in  the  scientific 
certainty  that  this  ancient  philosophy  has  not  de- 
ceived them. 

It  is  magnetism  which  is  destined  to  reveal  to  us 
the  fact  that  we  have  lived  in  the  past.  The  labors 
of  M.  de  Rochas,  upon  the  regression  of  memory, 
have  opened  new  vistas,  of  which  we  will  speak 
briefly. 

We  knew  already  that  a  subject,  transported  by 
magnetic  passes  into  a  former  state — to  childhood, 
for  instance — would  appear  tractable  to  this  sugges- 
tion. But  this  was  generally  believed  to  be  the  hack- 
neyed phenomenon  which  induces  a  hypnotized  sub- 
ject to  accept  the  part  proposed,  as  that  of  an  old 
man,  a  priest,  a  general,  etc.  Yet  along  with  these 
66 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  57 

fictitious  roles,  are  realities;  thus  it  is  well  known 
that  hypnotism  may  be  misused  to  draw  true  reve- 
lations from  a  subject,  or  force  him  to  confide  his 
secrets.  Not  everything  is  false  in  the  hypnotic  con- 
dition, and  the  subject  who  returns  to  his  childhood 
is  playing  a  part  that  is  a  true  repetition  of  states 
formerly  lived. 

Colonel  de  Rochas,  a  remarkable  experimenter,  has 
introduced  an  innovation  by  submitting  different  sub- 
jects to  methodical  tests  of  memory  regression,  and 
by  showing  the  fidelity  of  the  pictures  thus  recon- 
structed. 

For  example,  a  young  girl  of  eighteen  is  progres- 
sively carried  back;  she  passes  always  through  the 
same  phases;  then  slowly,  by  the  same  ways,  she  is 
returned  to  her  real  age  before  being  awakened.  At 
seven  years  of  age  she  is  going  to  school  and  is  only 
beginning  to  write;  at  five  years  she  can  no  longer 
read,  and  carried  back  to  the  cradle,  she  sucks.  We 
can  even  go  beyond,  and  the  subject  takes  the  posi- 
tion of  the  foetus  in  its  mother's  womb. 

With  an  orphan,  who  had  been  reared  in  Beyrout 
and  whose  father  had  been  an  engineer  in  the  Orient, 
M.  de  Rochas  attempted  regression.  At  ten  years 
of  age  she  thought  herself  in  Marseilles,  where  she 
had  indeed  been  at  that  age,  and  M.  de  Rochas  was 
unaware  of  this.  At  eight  she  was  in  Beyrout  and 
spoke  of  her  father  and  friends  who  came  to  the 
house.  Asked  how  "good  morning"  is  said  in  Turk- 
ish, she  answered,  "Salamalec,"  a  word  which  in  her 
waking  state  she  had  forgotten.  At  two  years  she 
was  at  Cuges  in  Provence,  which  was  correct;  at  one 
year  she  could  no  longer  speak  and  replied  by  signs 
of  the  head. 


58         PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

But  here  is  where  the  operation  becomes  curious. 
In  order  to  obtain  these  regressive  states,  M.  de 
Rochas  made  longitudinal  passes  over  his  subject; 
and  to  recall  her,  transversal  passes.  In  the  course 
of  these  experiments,  he  perceived  that  if  he  con- 
tinued the  transversal  passes,  the  subject  would  go 
beyond  her  actual  age — in  other  words,  was  able 
to  see  herself  in  time  to  come.  Here  we  must  beware 
of  the  somnambulistic  dream,  the  tendency  which  a 
subject  always  has  to  satisfy  her  observer,  and  the 
possibility  of  a  change  of  personality ;  the  pictures 
thus  obtained  are  rarely  correct.  However,  in  1904, 
a  subject  who  had  been  urged  into  the  future,  gave 
a  successful  result. 

I  cite  textually  the  case  of  Eugenie.1 

Thus  I  made  her  grow  older,  little  by  little;  at 
thirty-seven  years  of  age  (she  was  then  really  thirty- 
five)  she  manifested  all  the  symptoms  of  child  birth 
and  the  shame  of  this  event,  because  she  was  not  re- 
married. This  was  to  take  place  in  1906.  Several 
months  afterward  she  seemed  to  be  drowning  her- 
self. I  caused  her  to  grow  older  by  two  years — new 
symptoms  of  birth.  I  asked  her  where  she  was  at 
that  time,  and  she  answered,  "Upon  the  water."  This 
strange  reply  caused  me  to  suppose  that  she  was 
wandering,  and  I  brought  her  back  to  her  normal 
state. 

Everything  that  she  had  predicted  came  true.  She 
took  for  her  lover  a  glove-maker,  by  whom  she  had 
a  child  in  1906.  Shortly  afterward,  grown  despon- 
dent, she  threw  herself  into  the  Isere  and  was  saved 
by  being  seized  by  the  leg.  Finally,  in  January, 
1909,  another  child  was  born,  upon  a  bridge  of  the 

i  Les  Vies  successives,  by  Albert  de  Rochas,  Chacorne,  1911, 
p.  96. 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  59 

Isere,  where  she  was  taken  suddenly  with  the  birth- 
pangs  in  returning  from  her  work. 

This  is  a  curious  fact  and  should  be  recorded, 
though  there  must  be  many  added  before  we  can 
pronounce  upon  it.  The  cases  of  regression  are 
more  interesting  and  we  will  return  to  them. 

It  is,  indeed,  strange,  but  every  subject  describes 
in  identically  the  same  manner  his  or  her  going  back 
to  the  past.  They  are  transported  back  to  six 
months  of  age,  two  months,  into  the  body  of  the 
mother,  where  they  take  the  position  of  the  foetus; 
the  regression  is  continued  and  they  are  in  space. 
A  brief  lethargy  and  we  are  present  at  a  new  scene, 
the  death  of  an  old  person.  It  is  the  beginning  of 
the  life  which  preceded  the  present  incarnation,  man- 
ifesting itself  backwards,  and  continuing  back  to  a 
still  older  incarnation. 

We  will  consider  only  the  moment  of  birth; 
whether  the  subject  be  educated  or  not,  the  vision 
is  always  the  same.  First,  before  birth,  the  subject 
sees  himself  in  space  in  the  form  of  a  ball,  or  as  a 
slightly  luminous  mist,  wandering  about  the  organs 
of  the  mother;  each  sees,  in  the  mother's  womb,  the 
body  in  which  he  is  to  be  incarnated.  Thus  con- 
ception precedes  the  taking  possession  of  the  foetus 
by  the  spiritual  body,  which  enters  little  by  little — 
"by  puffs,"  as  one  subject  said — into  the  tiny  body. 
Until  then  the  subject  sees  himself  as  though  he  were 
placed  upon  the  outside. 

Another  subject,  Josephine,  depicts  herself  thus 
surrounding  the  body  of  her  mother,  only  entering 
rather  late,  and  little  by  little,  into  the  child's  body. 
All  agree  that  the  complete  incorporation  occurs  at 
about  seven  years  of  age. 


60        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

This  is  in  accord  with  the  lucid  descriptions  of 
the  "sensitives,"  who  also  see  the  astral  bodies  of  the 
dying  leave  their  physical  bodies,  and  seemingly  float 
above  them. 

Mayo,  carried  back  before  her  birth,  said  that  she 
was  nothing,  she  felt  that  she  existed  and  that  was 
all,  but  she  remembered  having  had  another  life. 
When  led  back  to  the  world,  she  said  that  something 
had  urged  her  to  be  reincarnated,  and  she  had 
descended  to  her  mother,  when  the  latter  was  already 
pregnant,  and  had  entered  her  physical  body  shortly 
before  her  birth  and  then  but  partially. 

As  for  material  concerning  former  lives,  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  classify  the  declarations  of  the 
subjects,  since  they  contain  elements  of  error  and 
truth.  But  have  we  the  right  to  be  exacting  in  such 
a  matter?  If  a  single  existence  represented  the  en- 
tirety of  being,  we  should  have  the  right,  in  evoking 
this  being,  to  require  that  a  faithful  report  be  given 
us.  But  when  we  have  several  successive  existences 
unconnected,  since  they  are  separated  by  death,  what 
may  be  the  nature  of  the  unity  that  obtains  outside 
oif  the  time  lived? 

What  can  be  the  quality  and  functioning  of  its 
memory?  We  cannot  know.  Interpolation  and 
anachronism  may  legitimately  appear  as  a  necessary 
consequence  of  multiple  lives. 

Victor  Hugo  has  said : 1 

"You  do  not  believe  in  progressive  personalities 
(that  is,  in  reincarnations)  under  the  pretext  that 
you  remember  nothing  of  your  previous  existences. 
Yet  how  may  vanished  centuries  remain  graven  upon 

i  Reply  of  Victor  Hugo,  related  by  Arsene  Houssaye,  and 
cited  by  de  Rochas. 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  61 

your  memory  when  you  no  longer  recall  the  thousand 
and  one  scenes  of  your  present  life?  Since  1802, 
there  have  been  ten  Victor  Hugos  within  me.  Do  you 
think  that  I  remember  all  their  deeds  and  all  their 
thoughts? 

"When  I  shall  have  passed  the  grave  to  find 
another  light,  all  these  Victor  Hugos  will  be  in  some 
degree  strangers,  but  it  will  always  be  the  same  soul." 

Hence  if  the  subject,  in  a  hypnotic  state,  finds 
anew  memories  forgotten  in  his  present  life,  it  is 
because  the  soul,  forever  linked  to  its  physiological 
state,  finds  therein  the  functional  elements  of  mem- 
ory; but  the  former  personalities  are  perforce  non- 
existent, and  of  them  only  fragmentary  recollections 
remain. 

An  exceedingly  interesting  case  is  that  of  Mme. 
H.,  observed  by  M.  Bouvier,  whom  Colonel  de  Rochas 
had  told  of  his  experiments.  I  can  give  here  only 
a  superficial  idea  of  this  case,  in  a  resume  necessarily 
too  brief.1 

M.  Bouvier  speaks  thus  of  the  first  regression  of 
his  subject,  who  has  just  reached  the  moment  of 
birth: 

"Before  conception,  when  the  spirit  is  yet  in  space, 
she  makes  an  effort  to  escape  from  the  invincible 
force  which  seems  to  draw  her;  then,  always  going 
back  in  time,  she  gives  replies  about  what  she  is  doing, 
what  her  mode  of  existence  is,  until  she  takes  up 
again  the  body  which  she  had  formerly  quitted,  to 
return  to  a  new  life.  But  strangely  enough,  each 
time  that  I  caused  her  to  enter  her  mother's  womb, 
she  passed  through  the  same  phase,  characterized  by 
the  same  attitude."  2 

1  The  Report  occupies  38  pages. 

2  A.  de  Rochas,  Leg  Vies  successives,  p.  178. 


62        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

I  must  call  attention,  in  passing,  to  the  constancy 
of  the  process  of  incarnation,  whoever  may  be  the 
hypnotized  subject. 

Mme.  J.  was  thirty-nine  years  old.  They  tried 
through  her  to  push  the  experiment  to  its  utmost 
limit,  to  cause  her  to  go  back  as  far  as  possible 
in  time.  [Thus  they  went  back  to  her  twelfth  exist- 
ence. 

From  her  first  regression — second  life — she  indi- 
cates proper  names  which  have  not  been  found,  in 
places  whose  description  is  nevertheless  correct. 
Thus,  at  fifteen  years  of  age,  she  has  just  left  the 
class  of  the  Dames  Trinitaires  in  the  Rue  de  la 
Gargouille  in  Brian9on.  A  note  by  M.  de  Rochas 
indicates  that  there  was  indeed  a  school  for  little 
girls  kept  by  the  Dames  Trinitaires  on  the  Rue  de 
la  Gargouille  in  that  city.  But  the  father  of  Mme. 
J.  was  born  in  Brian9on,  he  left  the  city  when  he 
was  very  young;  Mme.  J.  was  born  long  after  in  a 
town  of  Isere,  her  mother  had  never  lived  in  Brian- 
9on,  nor  had  her  husband,  an  army  officer,  ever  been 
stationed  there. 

Third  Life. — Still  in  Brian9on,  at  ten  years,  she 
gave  the  date  1748. 

Fourth  Life.— In  1702,  at  Ploermel. 

Fifth  Life. — The  subject  is  a  soldier;  as  in  all 
the  other  lives  it  is  pictures  that  are  presented  in 
the  turning  back  of  the  course  of  time;  the  death 
scene  is  shown  first.  He  dies  from  a  lance  thrust. 

Q.  Where  did  you  receive  this  blow  and  in  what 
year?  A.  At  Marignan,  in  1515.  (Poor  Berry, 
you  are  done  for!) 

Q.  With  whom  were  you?    A.  With  Francis. 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  63 

Q.  What  Francis?  A.  The  father,  our  Lord  and 
Master,  forsooth,  the  King  of  France. 

Q.  What  is  your  name?    A.  Michael  Berry. 

Q.  Against  whom  are  you  fighting?  A.  Against 
these  Swiss  swine,  etc. 

Sixth  Life. — It  is  the  year  1302.  She  is  a  young 
governess;  only  eighteen,  she  is  with  the  Countess 
de  Guise. 

Q.  Who  is  the  King?  A.  I  do  not  know,  they  say 
he  is  Philippe  le  Bel. 

Seventh  Life. — It  is  1010;  at  eighty-seven,  she  is 
an  Abbess;  at  seventy-seven,  she  believes  that  the 
world  is  coming  to  an  end. 

Q.  Do  you  know  who  is  the  king?  A.  Robert  II. 
At  seventy.  Q.  Who  is  the  King?  A.  Capet.  At 
sixty,  the  same  request.  A.  It  is  Capet.  At  forty- 
five.  A.  It  is  Louis  IV.  At  thirty-five.  Q.  Who  is  the 
King?  A.  Louis  IV,  for  several  years  past.  They 
say  he  is  ugly,  fat  and  bloated,  but  I  have  not  seen 
him.  At  twenty-four  years.  Q.  What  is  the  date? 
A.  947.  Q.  Who  is  the  King?  A.  Louis  IV.  At  fif- 
teen— same  question.  A.  Louis  IV. 

Eighth  Life. — Chief  of  the  Frankish  warriors. 
He  had  been  taken  by  Attila  at  Chalons-sur-Marne, 
and  the  Huns  had  burned  out  his  eyes. 

Q.  Are  there  other  chiefs  over  you?  A.  There 
is  the  chief  tribune  Massoee.  Q.  And  over  him? 
A.  The  chief  of  the  Chiefs,  Merovoeus. 

Q.  What  year  is  it?    A.  449. 

Q.  Do  you  know  God?  A.  There  is  some  one 
above, — it  is  Theos. 

Q.  How  do  you  worship  him?  A.  Men  are  of- 
fered up  as  a  burnt  offering — it  is  very  beautiful. 


64        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

Ninth  Life. — He  is  a  guard  of  the  Emperor 
Probus. 

Q.  What  country  are  you  in?  A.  At  Romulus. 
Q.  What  year  is  it?  A.  279.  1  At  twenty-five 
Q.  WTiat  are  you  doing?  A.  I  am  at  Tourino,  with 
my  wife.  Q.  Who  united  you?  A.  The  praetor. 

Tenth  Life. — She  is  a  woman  called  Irisee.  She 
wishes  to  enter  the  service  of  the  Gods  and  waits 
upon  the  priest  Ali. 

Q.  In  what  country  are  you?    In  Imondo. 

Q.  What  year  is  it?  A.  Ali  says  that  we  should 
not  seek  to  find  out;  the  Gods  know. 

Eleventh  Life. — An  unimportant  child,  dead  at 
eight. 

This  regression  toward  past  ages  is  certainly 
curious  and  there  is  a  mystery  about  it  which  has 
not  yet  been  elucidated;  but  the  hypothesis  of  a 
momentary  revival  of  the  memories  of  a  mind  freed 
from  the  body  is  surely  the  least  improbable  of  the 
hypotheses  so  far  formulated. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  hypothesis  has  not 
been  more  often  considered  as  a  pivot  for  observa- 
tion. Note,  for  example,  what  great  interest  there 
would  have  been  in  submitting  Miss  Beauchamp's 
case  to  the  experiment  of  regression. 

We  feel  the  same  regret  upon  the  subject  of  the 
medium  observed  by  Professor  Flournoy,  Helen 
Smith.  The  case  of  this  medium  would  have  been 
interesting  in  a  very  different  way  had  it  been 
studied  upon  the  hypothesis  of  previous  lives. 

iWe  think  it  well  to  recall  the  chronology  here. — Francis 
I,  1515-1547— Philippe  le  Bel,  1478-1506.— Robert  II,  996-1081 
— Hugues  Capet,  978-996.— Louis  le  Gros,  936-954.— Merovoeus, 
448-458.— Attila,  434-458.  Probus  Emperor  from  276-282. 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  65 

In  the  case  of  Helen  Smith  there  are  very  strange 
peculiarities,  which  seem  incapable  of  explanation 
except  on  the  ground  of  fragments  of  personal  re- 
collections from  previous  lives,  fragments  that  rise 
from  the  memory  of  the  subject,  put  into  a  state  of 
lucid  somnambulism. 

It  is  in  this  spirit  that  I  wish  to  reconsider  the 
work  of  M.  Flournoy,1  whose  study,  well  known  to 
all  psychologists,  has  been  favorably  received  in 
scientific  circles. 

The  author  writes  in  a  spirit  contrary  to  our 
interpretations,  which  is  a  guarantee  to  us  that  we 
may  accept  the  facts  which  he  himself  could  not 
easily  admit.  Only,  M.  Flournoy  presents  his  theory 
first,  his  facts  afterwards,  and  then  makes  his  facts 
fit  his  theory.  He  declares  himself  hostile  to  any 
interpretation  which  infers  the  intervention  of  a 
foreign  influence.  At  the  mere  thought  of  this,  he 
says,  he  feels  a  nervous  amusement,  which  sets  him 
laughing.  As  for  table-tipping,  he  states  with  a 
certain  cynicism,  "Whether  objects  do  or  do  not 
move  is  vastly  indifferent  to  me."  (p.  357.) 

It  is  the  salient  characteristic  of  M.  Flournoy 
that  he  attaches  slight  importance  to  the  phenome- 
non itself,  analyzing  only  its  content;  the  faculty  of 
creating  instantly  an  imaginary  language  does  not 
hold  his  attention.  He  demonstrates,  and  with  rea- 
son, that  this  language  is  not  authentic.  Neverthe- 
less, it  remains  to  be  explained  how  operations  of 
great  complexity  can  be  produced  without  a  con- 
scious action.  We  know  that  we  must  beware  of 
the  names  with  which  mediumistic  personalities  en- 

iFrom  the  Indies  to  the  Planet  Mars,  by  Th.  Flournoy, 
Alcan,  1910. 


66        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

dow  themselves  to  meet  the  demands  of  curious  per- 
sons ;  generally  they  accept  the  first  that  is  proposed 
to  them.  We  do  not  know  the  personalities  of  the 
Beyond,  and  when  we  are  concerned  with  a  serious 
manifestant  who  is  connected  with  important  experi- 
ments, it  must  adopt  a  name. 

Miss  Smith's  familiar  spirit  answered  to  the  name 
of  Leopold,  and  later  accepted  the  personality  of 
Cagliostro,  who,  we  believe,  was  suggested  to  him. 

In  the  case  of  Miss  Beauchamp,  Sally  was  a  hostile 
and  malevolent  spirit.  Leopold,  on  the  contrary, 
is  a  guardian  spirit;  but  the  physical  process  of 
apparent  possession  is  always  the  same — difficulty 
in  adapting  the  foreign  influence  to  the  organs  of 
the  medium.  When  Leopold  wished  to  write,  there 
was  a  struggle  of  twenty  minutes,  during  which 
Helen  resisted  with  all  her  strength;  but  in  vain. 
Leopold  snatched  the  pen  from  her,  twisted  and  hurt 
her  arm,  until  Helen,  vanquished,  wept  and  obeyed. 
Miss  Smith,  accustomed  to  hold  her  pen  with  the 
middle  finger,  was  obliged  to  write  with  the  index 
finger.  Moreover,  she  produced  an  orthography 
different  from  her  own,  not  only  as  to  penmanship, 
much  larger  and  more  regular,  but  also  as  to  spell- 
ing, which  was  of  the  last  century.  Leopold  did  not 
fail  once  to  write  "j'aurois"  for  "j'aurais"  and  to 
use  archaic  terms.  If,  for  instance,  he  named  the 
streets  of  Geneva,  it  was  under  their  old  names. 

The  same  struggle  would  begin  for  control  of  the 
vocal  organs;  it  was  not  until  a  year  after  the  first 
attempt  that  he  succeeded  in  speaking  freely.  Here 
again  there  is  a  likeness  with  the  case  of  Sally,  who 
stammered  terribly  at  the  beginning.  Helen  suf- 
fered actually  in  her  mouth  and  throat;  then  began 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  67 

to  speak,  with  an  Italian  accent,  in  a  deep  and  hol- 
low voice,  wholly  unlike  the  usual  sweet  tone  of  her 
pretty  feminine  voice.  And  it  was  not  the  voice 
alone  that  changed;  archaism  appeared  in  speech 
as  it  had  in  writing;  the  vocabulary  was  studded 
with  obsolete  words — "phial"  instead  of  "bottle," 
etc.  Yet  Leopold  never  forgot  that  he  was  Italian, 
and  pronounced  U  like  ou,  and  never  used  the  new 
word,  saying  omnibus  for  tramway,  etc.,  and  all  of 
this  in  a  strong  bass  voice,  very  masculine  and  as 
Italian  as  possible.  (From  the  Indies,  p.  110.) 

For  D.  Flournoy  this  is  but  a  well-played  role; 
the  person  is  but  a  modification  of  Helen — a  case 
of  auto-hypnotism.  Flournoy  swallows  the  obstacle. 
Auto-hypnotism  can  be  only  the  act  of  a  self-cog- 
nizant will ;  it  is  the  usual  mode  of  action  exerted  upon 
oneself  or  upon  the  motor  centers,  if  so  be  they  are 
considered  as  distinct  from  the  ego.  Auto-hypnotism 
would  in  this  case  be  a  reverse  action ;  the  ego  wishes 
to  write  in  one  manner,  the  hand  in  another,  and 
the  hand  triumphs  over  the  subject.  It  is  the  organic 
periphery  attacking  the  brain  and  imposing  its 
movements  upon  it,  a  way  in  which  automatism  does 
not  function. 

Still  a  word  concerning  Leopold:  he  possesses 
complete  independence,  and  when  he  announces  to 
the  mesmerist  that  he  is  the  master,  suggestion  can 
change  nothing. 

I  have  presented  the  personality  of  Leopold  be- 
cause he  is  of  a  general  type.  All  mediums  have 
thus  a  familiar  spirit  which  intervenes  in  phenomena. 
But  I  am  not  concerned  with  this  role  and  pass  on 
to  facts  of  regression. 

The  phenomenal  condition  of  Miss  Smith  tends  to 


68        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

reconstruct  two  fragments  of  her  past  lives.  The 
medium,  or  her  guide,  attributes  to  Marie  Antoinette 
the  most  recent  reminiscences,  and  the  other  incarna- 
tion, whose  very  incomplete  fragments  reappear  in- 
termittently, carries  us  back  to  a  much  more  distant 
period,  to  the  15th  Century,  in  India,  when  the  sub- 
ject was  incarnated  as  a  Hindu  Princess. 

For  M.  Flournoy,  these  facts  are  psychic  neo- 
plasms ;  he  states  this  in  the  beginning : 

"In  pathology,"  he  says,  "neoplasms  have  for 
their  point  of  departure  certain  cells  remaining  em- 
bryonic which  suddenly  become  prolific  by  differen- 
tiation. Similarly,  in  psychology,  it  seems  that 
certain  remote  and  primitive  elements  of  the  indi- 
vidual, strata  of  infancy,  still  endowed  with  plasti- 
city and  mobility,  are  peculiarly  fitted  to  engender 
these  strange  subconscious  growths,  a  sort  of 
psychic  tumors  or  excrescences,  that  we  call  second 
personalities." 

Is  it  necessary  to  assert  that  such  an  analogy  is 
fantastic?  The  pathological  neoplasm  does  not  de- 
velop; it  remains  a  monstrosity  of  a  lower  order. 
The  second  personality,  upon  the  contrary,  has  per- 
ceptive faculties  superior  to  those  of  the  intelligent 
being  of  whom  it  is  but  a  fraction.  And  then,  to  be 
precise,  M.  Flournoy  should  not  have  rested  upon 
the  vague  terms  of  psychology.  These  neoplasms 
which  detach  themselves  from  the  principal  person- 
ality cannot  detach  themselves  save  as  they  borrow 
an  organ  in  order  to  manifest  themselves.  Each  suc- 
cessive personality  must  thus  be  represented,  in  the 
time  in  which  it  acts,  by  bundles  of  motive  and 
sensitive  fibers;  these  neoplasms,  absolutely  foreign 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  69 

to  the  principal  being,  must  have  their  localization 
somewhere.  The  author  realized  this  and  wrote: 

"It  should  be  agreed  upon,  once  for  all,  that  this 
cerebral  mechanism  is  always  understood;  but  one 
should  never  speak  of  it  so  long  as  there  is  nothing 
definite  to  be  said  concerning  it." 

On  the  contrary,  we  should  speak  of  it,  in  order 
to  understand  how  grotesque,  as  applied  to  the  given 
facts,  such  a  localization  would  become.  I  should 
like  to  be  shown,  even  by  hypothesis,  the  different 
places  that  would  be  occupied  in  the  organism  by 
several  intelligences,  writing  the  same  hand  without 
mingling  their  memories  nor  their  writing,  without 
confusing  their  roles,  each  of  which  requires  a  special 
spelling  and  a  different  speech;  finally,  without 
tangling  the  skein  of  the  complex  creations  whose 
memories  they  hold  since  they  take  up  the  thread 
without  ever  severing  its  connection. 

Flournoy  tells  us  of  the  delicacy  of  choice,  of  the 
refined  sensibility,  the  consummate  though  instinctive 
art,  which  guide  the  selection  and  storing  of  sub- 
conscious memories.  I  should  greatly  like  to  see 
the  substratum  of  these  things  and  know  what  was 
the  primitive  core  of  these  formations.  .  .  .  What 
happy  dilation  of  our  spleen !  if  once  you  begin  trans- 
lating into  physiological  language.  I  should  like  to 
have  some  one  tell  me  about  the  consummate  art 
of  a  spinal  ganglion,  employing  all  its  skill  against 
the  finesse  of  the  glosso-pharyngeal,  which  would  be 
the  dupe  of  the  refined  sensibility  of  a  solar  plexus. 
I  should  love  to  see  the  implacable  logic  of  a  quad- 
rigeminal  combated  by  the  rhetoric  of  the  medulla 
oblongata.  For,  seriously,  that  is  what  we  must 
ccme  to.  It  is  with  nonsense  of  this  kind  that  we 


70        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

should  find  ourselves  confronted  did  we  undertake 
to  define  the  theory  of  the  neoplasm.  Scholars 
admit  that  these  things  elude  positive  science.  "Ideal 
science,"  declares  Berthelot,  "varies  ceaselessly  and 
will  always  vary."  And  the  psychologist  Myers  ex- 
claims in  a  moment  of  frankness :  "We  shall  always 
find  ourselves  at  last  face  to  face  with  the  inex- 
plicable, and  the  most  Lamarckian  reply  is  in  reality 
as  mystic  as  the  most  Platonic." 

The  truth  is  that  we  cannot  conceive  of  the 
presence  in  us  of  intelligences  superior  to  our  own 
unless  we  regard  man  as  a  concretion  of  all  the 
psychic  elements  pertaining  to  his  previous  lives. 
This,  therefore,  would  constitute  the  reserve — a 
purely  psychic  reserve — of  all  that  is  sub-conscious 
within  us. 

Our  individuality  is  only  the  partly  conscious 
elaboration  of  a  far  more  extended  organism  which 
represents  the  synthesis  of  all  our  former  person- 
alities in  the  process  of  higher  integration,  which  is 
immortality. 

Helen  Smith  thus  revives  the  fragments  of  her 
past.  In  the  role  of  Marie  Antoinette,  she  attains 
remarkable  perfection  if  we  may  believe  M.  Flournoy. 

"When  the  royal  trance  is  complete,  one  should 
see  the  grace,  elegance,  distinction,  even  majesty 
sometimes,  which  transfigures  the  pose  and  gesture 
of  Helen.  She  has  truly  the  carriage  of  a  queen 
(p.  326).  .  .  .  The  unconstrained  movement  with 
which  she  never  forgets  to  fling  back  her  imaginary 
train  at  every  turn ;  all  that  which  cannot  be  de- 
scribed is  perfect  in  its  naturalness  and  ease. 

This  perfection  of  acting,  which  no  actress  could 
attain  without  much  study,  does  not  stop  there.  Old 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  71 

spelling  flows  as  naturally  from  her  pen:  Instans, 
enfants,  j'etois,  etc.,  for  instant,  enfant,  j'etais. 
Change  of  voice  also  takes  place  naturally  and, 
when  in  this  state,  she  is  unaware  of  Miss  Smith." 

From  this  it  may  be  seen  with  what  superior  quali- 
ties a  neoplasm  would  have  to  be  endowed,  while 
an  automatic  regression  towards  fragments  of  the 
past  requires  no  transcendant  faculty  since,  in  place 
of  a  miracle  of  artfulness  and  clever  lying,  a  natural 
mechanism  suffices  similar  to  the  regressions  obtained 
by  M.  Janet  with  Leonie  and  Rose,  and  those  ob- 
tained by  M.  de  Rochas. 

If  we  admit  reincarnation,  nothing  exists  but  the 
present  personality.  Marie  Antoinette  comporting 
herself  as  the  real  person  might  do,  is  an  intangible, 
non-existent  thing ;  there  could  never  be  two  persons 
in  one.  The  caterpillar  and  the  butterfly  which  has 
issued  from  it  cannot  exist  simultaneously. 

Nevertheless,  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  M.  Flournoy 
has  not  attempted  to  put  a  check  upon  this  hypo- 
thesis from  the  fact  that  he  succeeded  through  the 
medium  in  attributing  the  roles  of  Philippe  Egalite, 
and  the  Marquis  de  Mirabeau  to  Messrs.  Demole  and 
Auguste  de  Morsier,  presented  as  such. 

All  present  excitation  can  receive  only  a  response 
improvised  at  the  moment.  Marie  Antoinette,  be- 
come the  Smith  girl,  is  incapable  of  acting  spon- 
taneously as  a  queen,  but  Miss  Smith  is  capable  of 
regression.  The  only  thing  that  she  can  do  is  to 
set  in  motion  authentic  negatives.  Her  somnam- 
bulistic consciousness  may  very  well  make  use  of 
images  of  the  past  to  compose  Harlequins;  but  al- 
though the  medium  possess  no  historic  culture  her 
presentments  always  show  probability ;  the  style  and 


72        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

spelling  are  of  the  period,  the  facts  and  images  con- 
form to  history.  What  is  more  natural  than  that 
among  the  effaced  images  she  should  revive  a  family 
scene  wherein  she  sees  herself  with  her  three  children 
and  Madame  Elizabeth.  This  scene  calls  back  the 
memory  of  an  innocent  melody,  rather  archaic  and 
true  to  the  period.  The  song  of  a  mother  who  rocks 
her  baby  is  among  all  actions  one  of  those  best 
calculated  to  affect  the  mechanism  of  memory. 

These  ancient  images  should  have  been  collected 
with  reverent  care  in  order  not  to  strain  the  delicate 
instrument  which  has  registered  them. 

If  it  had  been  possible  to  use  the  method  of  M. 
Rochas  in  this  case,  one  would  have  begun  by  asking 
the  cooperation  of  Leopold,  sole  master  of  the  or- 
ganism of  the  subject,  and  persuading  him  to  lend 
his  aid,  because  of  the  great  value  of  the  experiment. 

Then  the  medium,  once  hypnotized,  instead  of 
making  a  difficult  leap  into  a  too  remote  time,  would 
have  been  led,  little  by  little,  to  retrace  the  course 
of  her  present  life;  would  have  reentered  the  body 
of  her  mother;  and  it  would  have  been  interesting 
to  learn  if,  in  the  Beyond,  in  the  spirit  state,  she 
would  have  found  the  same  evidences  of  her  former 
lives. 

In  place  of  that,  what  was  done  ?  Miss  Smith  was 
made  a  source  of  amusement.  At  the  close  of  a 
seance  in  which  she  had  embodied  the  Hindu  princess, 
or  some  one  else,  they  suddenly  suggested  to  her  a 
return  to  the  role  of  Marie  Antoinette;  for  what 
reason?  In  order  to  escort  the  Queen  to  dinner, 
where  they  poured  bumpers  of  wine  for  her,  which 
she  drained  glass  after  glass,  without  turning  a 
hair;  whereas,  in  her  normal  state,  Miss  Smith  was 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  73 

sobriety  itself.  Marie  Antoinette  took  coffee  .  .  . 
they  made  her  smoke,  etc.  How  different  should  be 
the  procedure  befitting  the  investigation  of  a  mys- 
tery! Is  it  true  then,  as  the  author  affirms,  that 
this  subject  provokes  in  him  only  a  mild  amusement? 
Alas! 

The  truth  is  that  for  the  learned  professor  there 
was  no  mystery;  he  believed  sincerely  in  his  theory 
of  the  pathological  neoplasm  and  experiments  con- 
ducted in  such  a  fashion  could  not  militate  against 
his  theory. 

Thus,  no  order  was  observed  in  the  production  of 
the  phenomena ;  and  it  was  not  by  a  series  of  regres- 
sions, but  suddenly,  that  Miss  Smith  reentered  a  far 
distant  cycle  of  existence,  returning  to  an  incarna- 
tion which  took  place  in  India. 

"Miss  Smith,"  declares  Professor  Flournoy,  "is 
truly  most  remarkable  in  her  Hindu  somnambulism. 
One  wonders,  with  stupefaction,  how  there  comes  to 
this  girl  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Leman,  who  is 
without  artistic  education  or  special  knowledge  of 
the  Orient,  a  perfection  of  technique  which  the  great- 
est actress  doubtless  could  not  attain  save  by  pro- 
longed studies  or  a  visit  to  the  banks  of  the  Ganges." 
(From  the  Indies,  p.  272.) 

However  it  may  be,  here  are  the  facts:  Helen  in 
a  somnambulistic  state  plays  the  role  of  a  Hindu 
princess,  Simandini,  daughter  of  an  Arab  Sheik  and 
wife  of  an  Indian  prince,  Sivrouka  Nayaca.  This 
prince  lived  in  Kanara  and  built  there  in  1401  the 
fortress  of  Tchandraghiri.  At  his  death  Simandini 
was  burned  alive  upon  his  pyre. 

None  of  the  persons  present  knew  these  proper 
names  when  they  were  cited;  the  history  of  India 


74        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

is  obscure  and  the  medium  had  complete  freedom 
of  invention.  Nevertheless,  it  was  found  that 
Kanara  was  situated  in  the  province  of  Malabar, 
but  no  Tchandraghiri  was  found;  or  rather,  Flour- 
noy  discovered  three,  but  they  did  not  correspond 
in  situation  or  date  to  the  medium's  story.  As  for 
the  other  names,  at  first  undiscoverable,  the  scholars 
and  historians  consulted  gave  up  hope  of  locating 
any  clues  to  them.  It  was  M.  Flournoy  himself 
who  one  day  stumbled  upon  an  old  history  of  India 
in  which  he  found  the  following  passage: 

"Kanara  and  the  adjacent  provinces  on  the  side 
of  Delby  may  be  regarded  as  the  Georgia  of  Hin- 
doustan ;  it  is  there,  they  say,  that  the  most  beauti- 
ful women  are  found  of  whom  the  natives  are  very 
jealous,  seldom  allowing  them  to  be  seen  by 
strangers." 

"Tchandragari,  whose  name  means  Mountain  of 
the  Moon,  is  a  vast  fortress  constructed  in  1401  by 
the  Rajah  Sivrouka  Nayaca.  This  prince,  like  his 
successors,  was  of  the  sect  of  Djains."  (From  Gen- 
eral History  of  Ancient  India,  by  Maries,  Paris, 
1828,  t.  I.  pp.  268-269.) 

M.  Flournoy  finds  this  document  to  fall  short, 
under  the  pretext  that  the  guarantee  of  Maries,  as 
an  historian,  is  not  of  the  first  order.  If  the  work 
had  been  good,  it  would  have  been  more  widely  known 
and  might  very  probably  have  been  the  source  of 
a  romance  imagined  by  the  subliminal  consciousness 
of  Miss  Smith.  But  the  valueless  book  was  buried 
in  the  deepest  oblivion.  For  M.  Flournoy  it  fails 
as  an  historical  document,  which  means  that  we 
must  nevertheless  seek  the  source  of  the  romance 
in  the  book  by  Maries,  but  we  must  guard  against 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  75 

imagining  it  to  have  a  basis  of  truth.  However, 
they  had  not  yet  found  Tchandragari ;  it  was  Mr. 
Barth  who  filled  this  lack  by  finding  a  Fort 
Tchandraghiri,  situated  in  South  Kanara — that  is, 
corresponding  to  the  conditions  of  time  and  place 
necessary  to  corroborate  the  romance. 

As  for  the  impossibility  of  Miss  Smith's  having 
been  able  to  study  Maries'  text,  M.  Flournoy  calls 
that  a  negative  objection.  Only  two  copies  of  this 
work  are  known,  both  hidden  in  the  dust  of  libraries, 
one  in  a  private  association  with  which  no  member 
or  friend  of  the  Smith  family  had  ever  been  con- 
nected. The  other  was  in  the  Public  Library,  where 
one  must  have  lost  his  mind  in  order  to  consult  it 
among  the  thousands  of  more  interesting  and  more 
modern  books.  (From  the  Indies,  ...  p.  283.) 
"But,"  declares  the  professor,  "Extravagance  for 
extravagance,  I  still  prefer  the  hypothesis  that  only 
requires  natural  probabilities  to  that  which  draws 
upon  occult  causes." 

Ah !  here  is  the  real  word  let  out.  ...  An  occult 
cause !  But  I  can  assure  M.  Flournoy  that  his  ex- 
planation of  a  psychic  wart  would  be  an  occult 
cause  no  less  than  is  regression.  We  see  the  occult 
in  the  fact  of  ancient  reminiscences  appearing  in  a 
new  organism;  yet  that  is  the  sole  explanation  that 
official  science  is  willing  to  give  us  concerning  certain 
phenomena  of  a  purely  biological  nature.  If  you 
accept  the  theory  that  physical  aptitudes  are  mani- 
fested in  us  by  reason  of  ancestral  inheritance,  I 
see  few  obstacles  to  believing  that  latent  memories 
have  the  same  origin. 

Helen  denies  vigorously  that  she  could  have  known 
Maries'  work  and  we  know  what  resources  hypno- 


76        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

tism  offers  for  the  discovery  of  falsehood.  Miss 
Smith  elaborated  a  dream  while  in  the  hynotic  state 
and  it  was  easy  to  learn  its  source.  This  did  not 
escape  the  professor  who  spoke  of  it  frankly. 

"It  would  seem,"  he  declared,  "that  the  simplest 
course  would  be  to  profit  by  the  hypnotic  state  of 
the  seances  to  cause  Helen's  subconscious  memory 
to  confess,  and  lead  her  to  tell  her  secrets ;  but  my 
trials  in  this  direction  have  not  yet  been  successful." 

In  short,  M.  Flournoy's  explanation  is  the  neo- 
plasm, that  is,  the  fact  of  a  psychic  monstrosity, 
of  several  monstrosities,  spontaneously  generated, 
whose  faculties  far  surpass  the  mother-intelligence 
which  has  given  them  birth.  Indeed,  he  declares, 
"whatever  conscious  and  reflective  work  is  able  to 
accomplish,  the  subliminal  faculties  can  execute  to 
a  far  higher  degree  of  perfection  in  subjects  pos- 
sessing automatic  tendencies."  (From  the  Indies 
...  p.  273.) 

Here  is  in  truth  the  intelligent  wart! 

If  the  book  of  Maries  had  been  the  source  of  the 
romance,  the  medium  would  have  borrowed  more 
fully;  automatic  memory  being  infallible,  she  would 
have  written  Tchandragari,  as  in  Maries' ;  secondary 
elements,  such  as  the  residence  of  Mangalore,  are 
not  cited  in  the  book.  But  what  the  medium  could 
not  have  borrowed  therefrom  is  the  knowledge  of 
Sanscrit.  Helen  spoke  a  Sanscrit  that  was,  indeed, 
imperfect  but  that  carried  an  extraordinary  stamp 
of  truth. 

M.  Flournoy  seized  upon  this  imperfection,  but 
perhaps  it  is  excessive  to  ask  that  a  somnambulistic 
memory,  having  passed  the  threshold  of  death, 
should  remain  unaltered.  With  the  same  exaction 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  77 

one  might  modify  the  Darwinian  theory  as  applied 
to  man,  defying  Darwin,  or  rather  Huxley,  to  bring 
to  light  his  anthropological  recollections.  That 
which  may  remain  in  the  subconsciousness  of  the 
medium  cannot  be  but  a  ruin,  a  distant  trace.  The 
Sanscrit  language  of  Helen  is  only  a  jargon,  and 
must  be  so  of  necessity. 

It  seems,  moreover,  that  the  text  submitted  to 
the  Orientalists  may  have  been  gathered  by  ear  and 
written,  I  think,  under  the  dictation  of  an  English- 
man who  did  not  know  the  language.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  and  despite  everything,  there  are  some 
authentic  words;  sometimes  Helen  writes,  and  Leo- 
pold translates,  a  phrase — although,  as  he  declares, 
he  does  not  know  Sanscrit.  But  he  deciphers  the 
thought  of  Helen  to  whom  it  comes  intuitively  in  a 
state  of  trance.  An  Orientalist,  M.  deSaussure,  was 
asked  to  examine  the  text,  thus  interpreted,  and 
discovered  several  fragments  having  quite  the  sense 
indicated  by  Leopold.  There  were  barbarisms,  but 
some  words  were  recognized  as  being  wholly  correct. 

In  short,  these  are  remnants  of  Sanscrit,  among 
which  some  intelligible  words  nevertheless  preserve 
their  character.  Thus  the  vowel  a  abounds,  because 
the  proportion  of  a's  in  Sanscrit  as  compared  with 
French,  is  4  to  1.  The  consonant  f  never  appears, 
although  so  frequent  in  French,  because  it  is  foreign 
to  Sanscrit.  Is  that  not  truly  remarkable? 

The  Hindu  princess,  if  she  really  existed,  has  no 
longer  any  special  individuality.  She  is  only  a  young 
Swiss  girl  who,  by  a  phenomenon  of  hypnotic  re- 
gression, finds  again  fragments  of  ancient  impres- 
sions among  which  some  words,  incompletely  effaced 
from  the  memory,  reappear  mechanically. 


78        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

But  if  Helen  does  not  give  to  this  language  a 
clear  reconstruction,  its  elements,  at  least,  are  cor- 
rect. It  is  a  structure  in  ruins,  of  which  there 
remain  a  few  bricks,  or  fragments  of  sculpture  that 
do  not  belie  the  style  of  their  period. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1885,  our  medium  welcomes 
the  professor  with  a  Hindu  salutation:  Atieya 
Ganapatindmd — this  form  of  address  to  the  name 
of  the  elephant-headed  god,  which  in  the  Hindu 
Pantheon  symbolizes  science  and  wisdom,  is  an  in- 
telligent greeting  addressed  particularly  to  the  pro- 
fessor and  scholar,  but  M.  Flournoy  is  pitiless. 
"No  conjecture,"  he  states,  "is  too  trivial  or  foolish 
when  it  is  a  question  of  phenomena  which  are  essen- 
tially of  the  dream  order."1 

And  here  is  the  explanation.  Since  when  one 
sneezes,  a  "God  bless  you"  is  said,  the  author  relates 
the  word  atieya  to  the  imitative  sound  "atiou" 
which,  according  to  him,  children  use  to  imitate 
sneezing.  If  I  understand  rightly,  this  would  mean 
that  Helen's  somnambulistic  consciousness,  before 
exclaiming  "God  bless  you !"  was  struck  by  the  idea 
of  sneezing;  this  association  of  ideas  would  have 
brought  the  word  atieya,  and  fortune  aiding,  the 
rest  came  of  itself.  What  exegesis,  good  heavens, 
what  exegesis! 

As  for  the  other  fragments,  the  professor  awaits 
their  explanation  from  some  happy  chance,  like  that 
which  caused  him  to  find  Maries'  text,  which  he 
persists  in  considering  as  the  original  source  of 
the  dream. 

The  imitation  of  the  person  depicted  attains  an 

iQnce  more  the  affirmation  precedes  the  examination  of  the 
fact 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  79 

astonishing  force  of  expression,  but  this  is  the  in- 
herent characteristic  of  every  hypnotic  state.  Only, 
these  states,  always  unknown  to  the  principal  con- 
sciousness, are  ordinarily  incapable  of  producing 
that  which  has  never  been  part  of  the  subject. 

We  cannot  believe  in  the  subconscious  formation 
of  a  language  which  contains  certain  elements  of 
truth,  and  whose  origin  hypnotic  sleep  refuses  to 
disclose.  Miss  Smith,  although  very  intelligent, 
possessed  no  linguistic  abilities.  She  always  dis- 
liked the  study  of  languages  and  rebelled  against 
German,  which  her  father  spoke  fluently,  and  in 
which  she  was  forced  to  take  lessons  for  three  years. 
Therefore,  if  these  famous  psychic  excrescences  swell 
only  through  elements  brought  in  since  childhood, 
it  would  be  fragments  of  German  which  would  be 
manifested  in  her  vocabulary. 

But  let  us  not  forget,  this  subject  has  never  been 
studied  from  the  point  of  view  of  regression — the 
preconceived  hypothesis  being  always  that  of  the 
psychic  neoplasm,  and  this  hypothesis  serving  as  a 
pivot  for  the  investigators.  Nor  did  they  guard 
against  confusion;  hypnotic  states  present  many 
phases  and  degrees  and  they  were  not  always  careful 
to  put  the  medium  in  the  profound  state  necessary 
to  the  reconstruction  of  the  more  distant  images. 
If  they  suggested  the  Hindu  dream  at  an  inoppor- 
tune moment,  for  example,  when  Miss  Smith  was 
in  a  state  of  superficial  somnambulism,  or  when  she 
had  just  manifested  oneirocritic  creations,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  results  would  be  distorted.  Former 
lives  do  not  revive  themselves  in  order  to  overwhelm 
us  with  their  proof;  it  is  for  ingenious  observers  to 
discover  them  by  subtler  means. 


80        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

As  I  said  in  reference  to  Miss  Beauchamp,  it 
requires  great  temerity  to  break  this  ancient  phi- 
losophic conception  of  the  unity  of  the  ego  in  order 
to  admit  spontaneous  creations  which  have  no  sup- 
port. Auto-hypnotism,  hyperamnesia  are  only 
words;  unconscious  cerebration  implies  two  contra- 
dictory terms — subliminal  creations  generated  with- 
out the  aid  of  the  ego  .  .  .  teleological  hallucina- 
tions; that  is,  illusions  tending  toward  a  real  end, 
subconscious  strata  .  .  .  infantile  strata  .  .  .  neo- 
plasms .  .  .  excresences  .  .  .  psychic  warts  .  .  .  vain 
hypotheses. 

These  are  fatherless  children  whose  power  sur- 
passes human  faculties;  there  would  be  no  longer 
one  consciousness,  but  four,  five  or  six  centers  of 
subconsciousnes,  which  would  play  as  complex  a 
farce,  each  having  its  own  manner  of  seeing,  writing, 
speaking,  of  crossing  the  tf's  or  pronouncing  the  w's, 
without  ever  becoming  confused,  or  omitting  the 
archaic  forms  of  the  past  century,  without  forget- 
ting the  nationality  of  the  figurant  or  his  accent 
or  spelling.  Strange  to  say,  these  factitious  beings 
would  elude  hypnotic  suggestion ;  they  take  the  reins 
from  the  mesmerist  and  it  is  they  themselves  who 
hypnotize  the  subject,  rectifying  by  means  of 
auditory  suggestions  the  error  of  the  subject  when 
he  has  wrongly  interpreted  a  visual  suggestion.  A 
human  intelligence  is  incapable  of  managing  so  many 
impostures  at  once. 

To  the  activity  of  these  factitious  personalities 
one  would  have  to  add  many  phenomena  of  recog- 
nized lucidity,  valuable  interventions  and  exact  pre- 
visions. Thus  one  must  needs  divide  phenomena  into 
two  parts:  one,  in  the  domain  of  facts  that  may  be 


PREVIOUS  LIVES  81 

verified,  would  be  sincere  and  truthful;  and  under 
subliminal  impostures  would  be  classed  the  same  in- 
fluence when  they  were  exercised  in  the  doubtful 
domain. 

All  this  would  be  done  with  the  avowed  determina- 
tion not  to  believe  in  manifestations,  nor  in  the  ac- 
tion of  the  past  upon  our  psychic  sphere,  nor  in  the 
action  upon  our  nervous  system  of  an  invisible 
hypnotist. 

Before  imposing  upon  us  this  belief  in  neoplasms 
of  genius,  it  would  have  been  well  to  show  us  some 
evidence  of  this  ego  cut  in  pieces  to  prove  that 
Leopold  is  a  division  of  Helen,  and  that  he,  divided 
in  turn,  produces  the  new  personalities  that  come 
out  one  from  another,  like  the  sections  of  a  tele- 
scope ! 

Where  have  these  spontaneous  generations  ac- 
quired learning?  How  have  they  knowledge  of 
idioms?  For  the  proof  new  hypotheses  are  de- 
manded; there  is  not  even  a  justification  of  this 
physiology  of  the  soul  which  allows  a  division 
wherein  each  part  would  be  greater  than  the  whole. 

Spiritualism,  in  default  of  absolute  proofs,  pre- 
sents, at  least,  an  explaining  hypothesis.  And  this 
explanation  becomes  simple  and  normal  when  we 
admit  the  relations  of  the  soul  to  its  past. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT 

"I  never  said  it  was  possible,  I  only  said  it  was 
true." 

WILLIAM  CBOOKES. 

SCIENCE,  unwilling  to  recognize  anything  outside 
of  matter,  denies  the  possibility  of  any  physical 
manifestation  without  contact,  as  if  visibility  were 
the  essential  condition  of  materiality.  These  are 
the  manifestations  which  have  been  scorned,  which 
are  still  unrecognized  or  admitted  only  to  be  denied 
all  importance. 

Every  new  idea  passes  through  three  successive 
phases.  At  first  men  mock  and  combat,  later  the 
idea  becomes  self-evident;  and  finally  men  claim  we 
are  forcing  doors  that  are  already  open.  This  is 
the  history  of  table-tipping,  automatic  writing, 
haunted  houses,  and  extra-physiological  formations 
of  strange  shapes  and  human  members. 

These  are  facts  which,  however  absurd  they  may 
seem,  nevertheless  exist. 

In  1854,  Count  Agenor  de  Gasparin  published  a 
large  work,  in  two  volumes,  upon  turning-tables 
which  he  had  studied  from  a  strictly  scientific  point 
of  view.  His  aim  had  been  to  demonstrate  that 
table-tipping  was  a  purely  physical  manifestation, 
and  he  had  the  simplicity  to  believe  that  because 
his  demonstration  had  been  made,  it  would  remain 


THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT  83 

uncontested.  Alas!  other  demonstrations  followed, 
and  other  experimenters  showed  the  same  simplicity. 
This  has  continued  for  sixty  years. 

Gasparin  placed  three  trays  upon  his  table,  the 
last  being  filled  with  stones ;  the  table  thus  weighted, 
rose  upon  the  desired  side. 

Certain  scholars,  witnessing  the  experiment,  ex- 
pressed the  theory  of  unconscious  pressure!  They 
agreed,  therefore,  that  if  flour  were  spread  upon 
the  table  and  no  trace  of  finger  prints  remained 
after  the  lifting,  no  further  objection  would  be  pos- 
sible. This  experiment  was  tried  again  and  again 
with  complete  success. 

M.  Marc  Thury,  a  professor  of  physics  and 
astronomy  at  the  University  of  Geneva,  strove  in 
his  turn  to  throw  a  new  light  upon  these  feats  of 
lifting  without  contact.  He  operated  in  such  a  way 
as  to  obtain  this  movement  under  conditions  where 
the  mechanical  action  of  fingers  would  have  been 
impossible.  In  his  presence,  a  child  raised  a  piano 
weighing  400  pounds,  and  as  this  movement  was 
explained  as  the  result  of  action  of  the  knees,  the 
child  repeated  the  phenomenon,  kneeling  upon  a 
stool  and  playing  on  the  piano  in  this  position. 

The  conclusions  drawn  by  Thury  were: 

1.  That  a  fluid  is  produced  by  the  brain  and  is 
set  free  along  the  nerves. 

2.  That  this  fluid  may  go  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  human  body. 

3.  That  it  obeys  will-power. 
Thury  wrote  upon  this  subject: 

"The  task  of  Science  is  to  bear  witness  to  the 
truth.  It  cannot  do  this  if  it  borrows  a  part  of  its 
data  from  revelation  or  tradition,  for  that  is  a 


84        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

ging  of  the  question  and  so  the  testimony  of  Science 
becomes  void. 

"Natural  facts  fall  into  two  categories  of  forces, 
the  one  necessary,  the  other  free.  In  the  first  cate- 
gory belong  the  general  forces  of  gravity,  heat, 
light,  electricity  and  growth.  It  is  possible  that 
others  may  be  discovered  one  day,  but  at  present 
these  are  the  only  ones  that  we  know.  To  the  second 
category  of  forces  belongs  the  soul  both  of  animals 
and  the  soul  of  man;  these  are  indeed  forces,  for 
they  cause  movements  and  varied  phenomena  in  the 
physical  world." 

Thus  the  work  of  two  experimenters  contained 
already,  in  germ,  this  affirmation  of  something  mate- 
rial, indeterminate,  fluidic,  in  connection  with  the 
soul  force,  acting  outside  the  human  body  and 
obedient  to  its  will. 

Later,  to  put  this  fact  beyond  all  dispute,  regis- 
tering apparatus  was  constructed.  Robert  Hare, 
chemist  at  Harvard  University,  was  the  first  to 
employ  this  method. 

In  1869,  the  Dialectic  Society  of  London  resolved 
upon  an  investigation  and  formed  a  committee  that 
held  fifty  seances.  In  the  course  of  these,  important 
testimony,  much  of  which  came  from  high  authori- 
ties, was  registered. 

sub-committee  No.  1  wrote  :  1 


"Your  committee  has  avoided  employing  profes- 
sional or  salaried  mediums.  The  only  mediumship 
was  that  of  its  members,  all  of  good  social  position 
and  strictest  integrity. 

"Your  committee  has  limited  its  report  to  facts 
i  Report  upon  Spiritism. 


THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT  85 

observed  by  its  assembled  members ;  these  facts  were 
perceptible  to  the  senses  and  possessed  a  reality 
susceptible  of  indisputable  proof.1 

"Four-fifths  of  your  sub-committee,  at  the  outset 
of  the  experiments,  were  skeptical  concerning  the 
reality  of  the  above-mentioned  phenomena.  They 
were  convinced  that  these  phenomena  were  the  re- 
sult either  of  imposture,  illusion,  or  unconscious 
muscular  action.  It  was  only  in  the  face  of  over- 
whelming evidence,  under  conditions  that  excluded 
all  possibility  of  these  solutions,  and  after  repeated 
experiments  and  proofs,  that  the  most  skeptical 
were  convinced,  little  by  little,  despite  themselves, 
that  the  phenomena  observed  in  the  course  of  their 
long  investigation  were  incontestable  facts. 

"These  manifestations  occurred  so  often,  under  so 
many  and  such  diverse  conditions,  surrounded  by 
so  many  precautions  against  error  or  illusion,  and 
gave  such  invariable  results,  that  the  members  of 
your  subcommittee  who  followed  the  experiments, 
although  the  majority  had  begun  in  absolute  skepti- 
cism, became  fully  convinced  that  a  force  exists 
capable  of  moving  heavy  bodies  without  material 
contact,  and  that  this  force  depends,  in  a  manner 
still  unknown,  upon  the  presence  of  human  beings." 

Here  we  have  to  deal  with  a  definite  conclusion. 
Each  time  that  men  have  seriously  studied  the  mat- 
ter in  good  faith,  they  have  rendered  a  similar 
verdict.  However,  it  will  always  be  impossible  to 
overcome  preconceived  opinion;  those  who  had  been 
inclined  to  accept  this  decision,  refused  it,  because 
it  was  contrary  to  their  expectations.  They  in- 
i  Underlined  in  the  report  of  the  Committee. 


86        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

sisted  that  a  verdict  of  this  nature  should  be  con- 
firmed by  a  decisive  authority. 

This  was  the  cause  and  origin  of  the  researches 
undertaken  by  Sir  William  Crookes.  This  time  it 
was  the  complete  routing  of  the  skeptics.  They  had 
declared  in  advance  their  willingness  to  accept  the 
conclusions  of  William  Crookes.  But  they  con- 
tinued to  discuss,  giving  proof  of  ignorance  and  bad 
faith.  "From  all  appearance,"  wrote  Camille  Flam- 
marion  upon  this  subject,  "they  approved  the  en- 
trance of  this  ingenious  chemist  into  these  occult 
and  heretical  researches,  only  with  the  idea  that  he 
would  demonstrate  the  falsity  of  these  prodigies." 

In  1888,  appeared  an  Italian  medium,  Eusapia 
Paladino,  whose  life  was  almost  entirely  devoted  to 
scientific  experimentation.  All  the  scholars  of 
Europe  examined  her,  one  by  one,  and  all  bore  wit- 
ness to  the  reality  of  the  facts.  This  time  stress 
was  laid  upon  a  multitude  of  objective  proofs,  ob- 
tained by  means  of  registering  apparatus,  and 
photographic  evidence.  Thus  we  have  permanent 
proofs,  visible  to  all,  of  table-tipping  or  the  lifting 
of  objects,  taken  at  the  moment  of  their  rising,  and 
attesting  that  at  this  moment  there  was  no  contact. 

In  1896,  Colonel  de  Rochas  wrote  his  fine  book 
upon  the  outward  manifestation  of  motivity,  an  in- 
destructible monument  which  established  the  definite 
proof  and  gave  the  records  of  the  different  controls 
exerted  upon  Eusapia  up  to  the  year  1896. 

In  1898,  M.  Guillaume  de  Fontenay  wrote  a  book 
upon  the  same  subject,  relating  only  the  seances  at 
which  he  had  been  present  with  the  Blech  family 
and  Camille  Flammarion.1 

iA    Propos   Eusapia   Paladino    (concerning   Eusapia    Pala- 
dino), by  Guillaume  de  Fontenay,  Paris,  1898. 


THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT  87 

Flammarion  himself  organized  in  1898,  in  his 
home  on  the  Avenue  de  1'Observatoire,  a  series  of 
seances,  at  which  were  present,  among  others, 
Arthur  Levy,  Victorien  Sardou,  Gustave  le  Bon,  and 
M.  and  Mme.  Ad.  Brisson.  At  each  seance,  Eusapia 
was  undressed  and  reclothed  before  two  ladies  ap- 
pointed to  ascertain  that  she  concealed  nothing  be- 
neath her  garments.  I  shall  not  speak  of  the 
marvelous  occurrences  witnessed  there,  but  shall  con- 
cern myself  solely  with  the  fact  of  movement  with- 
out contact.  We  have  on  this  subject  the  confession 
of  the  scholarly  astronomer  who,  after  giving  the 
events  of  these  seances,  wrote  the  following  lines : 

"The  levitation  of  a  table,  for  example,  and  its 
complete  detachment  from  the  floor  under  the  action 
of  an  unknown  force  contrary  to  weight,  is  a  fact 
which  can  no  longer  be  reasonably  contested." 

As  for  the  other  far  more  remarkable  phenomena, 
Camille  Flammarion  has  seen  them  under  conditions 
where  verification  was  entirely  possible.  But,  re- 
strained by  prudence,  he  is  content  to  write:  "To 
be  sure  of  such  enormities,  we  must  be  a  hundred 
times  sure,  not  having  seen  them  once,  but  one  hun- 
dred times,  as,  for  example,  levitations." 

This  then  has  been  achieved.  Levitation  of  tables 
without  contact  is  henceforth  beyond  doubt,  and 
should  be  affirmed  without  reserve.  It  has  been 
witnessed,  not  once,  but  a  hundred  times;  not  by  a 
few  but  by  a  great  number. 

Let  us  recall  the  principal  witnesses  by  citing  some 
extracts  from  their  testimony: 

William  CrooJces. — "There  are  many  examples  of 
heavy  bodies  such  as  tables,  chairs,  sofas,  etc.,  hav- 


88        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

ing  been  set  in  motion  without  the  contact  of  the 
medium.  I  will  mention  briefly  certain  of  the  more 
striking  instances.  A  chair  in  which  I  was  seated 
partly  described  a  circle  while  my  feet  were  clear 
of  the  floor.  On  one  occasion  a  chair  moved  slowly 
from  a  far  corner  of  the  room.  This  was  visible 
to  all  those  present.  Another  time  an  armchair 
came  to  the  spot  where  we  were  seated  and,  at  my 
request,  returned  slowly  away  to  a  distance  of  about 
three  feet.  During  three  consecutive  evenings,  a 
smah1  table  moved  freely  across  the  room,  under 
conditions  which  I  had  expressly  prepared  before- 
hand, in  order  to  brush  aside  all  objections  which 
might  be  raised  to  the  genuineness  of  the  occurrence. 
"On  five  different  occasions,  a  heavy  dining-room 
table  rose  from  several  inches  to  a  foot  and  a  half 
above  the  floor,  under  specially  arranged  conditions 
which  rendered  fraud  impossible.  At  another  time 
a  heavy  table  rose  above  the  floor  in  full  light,  while 
I  held  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  medium." 

Sir  Alfred  Russel  Wallace. — "I  was  so  complete 
and  confirmed  a  materialist  that  at  this  time  I  could 
not  find  room  in  my  thought  for  the  conception  of 
a  spiritual  existence,  nor  for  the  existence  of  any 
other  function  whatever  in  the  universe,  save  matter 
and  force.  Facts,  however,  are  stubborn  things.  My 
curiosity  was  first  aroused  by  certain  minor  but 
inexplicable  phenomena  observed  in  the  family  of  a 
friend,  and  my  desire  for  knowledge  and  my  love  of 
truth  stirred  me  to  pursue  the  investigation.  Facts 
became  more  and  more  manifest,  more  and  more 
varied,  and  farther  and  farther  from  all  the  teach- 
ings of  modern  science  and  from  all  that  con- 
temporary philosophy  discussed.  They  conquered  me, 
they  forced  me  to  accept  them  as  facts,  long  before 
I  could  admit  the  spiritualistic  explanation.  For 


THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT  89 

there  was  then  in  my  system  of  thought  no  place 
in  which  this  could  be  entertained.  By  slow  degrees 
a  place  was  made." 

The  same  author  wrote  in  his  notes: 

"These  experiments  have  persuaded  me  that  there 
is  an  unknown  power  which  emanates  from  the  bodies 
of  a  group  of  persons  placed  in  conjunction  by  their 
position  about  a  round  table  with  all  their  hands 
upon  it." 

Cesar  Lombroso. — "Until  now  (1890),  I  have 
been  the  most  relentless  foe  of  spiritism.  To  all  who 
urged  me  to  examine  this  order  of  phenomena,  I 
replied:  'Merely  to  speak  of  a  spirit  that  animates 
tables  and  chairs  is  simply  ridiculous ;  the  mani- 
festation of  forces  without  matter  is  quite  as  in- 
conceivable as  functional  activity  without  organs. 
.  .  .'  I  acquired  the  conviction  that  spirit  phe- 
nomena are  explained  for  the  greater  part  by  forces 
inherent  in  the  medium,  and  also,  in  part,  by  the 
intervention  of  super-terrestrial  beings  who  possess 
powers  of  which  the  properties  of  radium  may  give 
an  analogous  idea.  The  solution  of  this  problem 
will  be  one  of  the  most  far-reaching  events  of  the 
New  Century." 

A.  de  Rochas. — "The  refusal  to  believe  in  affirma- 
tions so  numerous,  unequivocal  and  precise,  renders 
impossible  the  establishment  of  any  physical  science, 
for  the  student  is  not  likely  to  have  an  opportunity 
to  witness  all  the  facts  taught  him,  observation  of 
which  is  often  difficult." 

Ochorowicz. — "The  hypothesis  of  a  fluidic  double 
(astral  body)  which,  under  certain  conditions,  de- 


90        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

taches  itself  from  the  body  of  the  medium,  seems 
necessary  for  the  explanation  of  the  majority  of 
phenomena.  According  to  this  conception,  the 
movement  of  objects  without  contact  would  be  pro- 
duced by  the  fluidic  members  of  the  medium." 

Morselli. — "Yes!  These  phenomena,  the  accept- 
ance of  which  seemed  to  me  at  first  to  be  due  to 
deception  or  naivete,  fraud  or  the  illusion  of  the 
senses  either  in  good  faith  or  obstinacy,  are  in  very 
large  number  authentic  and  certain;  as  for  the  few 
upon  which  I  am  not  yet  satisfied,  they  infringe  in 
no  wise  upon  the  existence  of  an  extraordinary  or 
preternatural  category  of  facts,  dependent  upon 
special  organisms  endowed  with  the  faculty  of  mak- 
ing manifest  images  and  wishes." 

Pio  Fioa. — "Now  that  we  are  persuaded  that  the 
phenomena  are  authentic,  we  feel  also  a  desire  to 
declare  it  publicly  and  to  proclaim  that  the  rare 
pioneers  in  this  branch  of  biology,  destined  to  be- 
come one  of  the  most  important,  see  and  observe, 
in  general,  with  exactitude." 

And  now,  being  shown  the  conclusions  of  these 
modern  scholars  who  have  seriously  studied  the 
facts,  one  may  wonder  why  there  are  still  the  in- 
credulous. Why  do  certain  persons  who  believe  in 
wireless  telegraphy,  liquid  air,  and  other  phenomena 
they  have  never  seen,  of  which  they  have  not  the 
slightest  proof,  and  which  they  admit  simply  be- 
cause they  have  heard  of  them,  refuse  to  admit 
another  phenomenon  which  has  resisted  sixty  years 
of  polemics,  has  been  subjected  to  every  test  and 
every  scientific  investigation? 

This  is  the  question  put  by  the  learned  neurolo- 


THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT  91 

gist  of  the  University  of  Genoa.     Having  thus  re- 
ferred to  his  unbelief,  he  asserts  anew: 

"To-day,  fortified  with  a  sufficient  experience, 
after  long  and  mature  reflection  upon  what  I  have 
seen  and  touched  with  my  hands,  after  unrelaxed 
study  of  the  question  of  mediumship  during  many 
years,  I  have  changed  my  opinion." 

In  brief,  here  is  the  testimony  of  Morselli,  upon 
that  fact  of  special  interest  to  us: 

"The  autonomous  lifting  of  a  table  is  the  favorite 
subject  for  photography.  In  broad  daylight,  we 
have  seen  a  table  rise  to  the  height  of  our  heads 
while  we  were  standing  in  the  middle  of  a  room. 
We  have  also  witnessed  minuets  of  the  table,  with 
the  gas  brightly  lighted  and  while  the  medium  was 
enclosed  within  a  cabinet." 

Finally,  it  is  also  important  to  cite  the  conclu- 
sion of  Dr.  Pio  Fioa,  professor  of  anatomy  at  the 
University  of  Turin,  a  conclusion  which  is  infinitely 
valuable  to  us. 

"One  must  conclude  from  these  facts  that  the 
nervous  system  of  the  medium  is  in  touch  with  cur- 
rents which  reach  her  from  outside,  and  that  cur- 
rents leaving  her  nervous  system  proceed  from  her. 
These  are  sensitive  and  motive  currents,  not  auto- 
matic, differing  from  those  we  know,  and  prolonged 
outside  the  organism  for  a  certain  distance,  like  the 
rays  of  a  form  of  energy  not  yet  known." 

We  ourselves  declare  that  these  conclusions  are 
equivalent  to  the  recognition  of  an  unknown  psychic 


92        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

organ;  to  us  it  appears  to  be  the  old  Perisprit, 
known  to  the  spiritists  for  sixty  years  and  to  the 
Egyptians  more  than  six  thousand  years  before  our 
Christian  era. 

It  is  necessary  to  emphasize  these  scholarly  wit- 
nesses, these  testimonies  ceaselessly  renewed  and 
these  beginnings  of  scientific  theories,  because  they 
are  the  very  things  of  which  the  journals  never  make 
mention. 

According  to  these  journals  the  essence  and  basis 
of  the  spiritualistic  movement  is  always  either  ex- 
ploitation or  weak-mindedness.  The  public  is  always 
ignorant  of  the  serious  foundation  of  the  monument 
which  is  being  raised,  and  it  is  even  not  rare  to  hear 
it  said:  "Since  the  papers  show  us  that  all  this  is 
only  fraud  and  charlatanism,  why  do  the  scholars 
not  undertake  to  elucidate  the  question?  It  should 
be  settled." 

But  when  in  1864,  Count  A.  de  Gasparin  accu- 
mulated experiment  after  experiment,  it  was  even 
then  for  the  purpose  of  settling  it. 

When  Robert  Hare  constructed  the  first  appara- 
tus to  establish  certitude  upon  an  objective  basis,  he 
planned  to  settle  the  question. 

When  in  1869,  the  Dialectic  Society  of  London 
created  a  commission  of  investigation,  it  was  still  for 
the  purpose  of  settlement. 

When  still  later,  it  was  asserted  that  Sir  William 
Crookes  was  the  sole  authority  capable  of  pronounc- 
ing judgment,  and  the  unbelievers  declared  in  ad- 
vance their  intention  of  accepting  as  final  the  results 
of  experiments  based  upon  registering  devices  set- 
tling the  matter  was  once  more  in  order. 

M.  Rochas  added  to  all  these  proofs  a  new 


THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT  93 

objective  basis,  by  publishing  the  photographs  of 
his  work  on  L'Exteriorisation  de  la  Motricite  (The 
Outward  Manifestation  of  Motivity),  it  was  yet  for 
the  purpose  of  settlement. 

When  Cesar  Lombroso,  in  1891,  accepted  a  cele- 
brated challenge,  and  consented  to  examine  Eusapia, 
that  also  was  to  settle  the  question. 

And  when  journalists,  who  do  not  know  the  first 
word  of  the  problem,  come  to  us  to  say  that  our 
affirmations  rest  upon  no  objective  basis,  it  will  be 
for  them  to  settle  it.  Let  them  tell  us  then  what 
is  an  objective  basis,  what  is  a  proof,  and  why  our 
proofs  are  not  proofs. 

Several  years  ago,  another  attempt  at  solution 
was  started.  There  was  in  Paris  on  the  rue  de 
Conde,  a  general  Psychological  Institute,  whose  be- 
ginning was  not  exactly  favorable  for  our  phenomena 
and  whose  method,  marred  with  preconceived  opin- 
ion and  dogmatism,  even  succeeded  in  discouraging 
several  eminent  psychists  who  withdrew  from  its 
membership.  It  was  this  society  which  resolved  to 
have  done  with  the  matter.  They  imagined  that  the 
previous  experimenters  must  have  been  victims  of 
collective  hallucinations,  and  that  since  our  senses 
may  deceive  us,  their  testimony  could  have  no  ob- 
jective value.  The  Institute  then  declared  that  if 
the  testimony  of  the  senses  corresponded  to  the  re- 
sults duly  registered  by  the  automatic  apparatus 
constructed  for  this  purpose,  they  would  have  set 
aside,  this  time,  all  possibility  of  error. 

This  was  done  in  the  course  of  a  long  series  of 
experiments,  covering  three  years,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Messrs.  Curie,  d'Arsonval,  Bergson,  Branly, 
Ed.  Perrier,  Boutroux,  etc.  These  experiments 


94        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

should  have  given  results  which  we  could  no  longer 
question. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  subject  was  being  con- 
trolled, the  automatic  devices  in  a  neighboring  room 
were  graphically  inscribing  the  number  and  ampli- 
tude of  the  movements.  They  indicated  liftings  of 
the  table,  whether  it  was  fully  detached  from  the 
floor  or  if  it  raised  one,  two  or  three  of  its  feet. 
Complete  levitations  of  the  four  feet  were  registered 
during  thirty  to  sixty  seconds,  while  the  attention 
of  the  spectators,  thus  relieved  from  the  care  of 
noting  down  the  phenomenon,  was  occupied  only  in 
watching,  some  the  hands,  some  the  feet  and  others 
the  knees  or  head  of  the  medium. 

But  it  were  better  to  give  some  extracts  from  the 
report  of  the  General  Institute. 

Extract  from  The  Bulletin  of  the  General 
Psychological  Institute,  p.  436: 

"Eusapia  asks  the  Countess  de  Grammont,  who  is 
outside  the  chain,  to  seat  herself  upon  the  table. 
She  sits  upon  the  small  side  of  the  table  opposite 
Eusapia.  Under  these  conditions,  the  third  and 
fourth  feet  (those  farthest  from  the  medium)  are 
raised  and  as  the  table  falls  back,  a  foot  is  broken. 
( Controllers :  on  the  left,  M.  Yourievitch ;  at  the 
right,  M.  Curie). 

"Complete  Lifting  of  the  Table.  The  blinds  of 
the  two  windows  in  the  experimental  room  are  open. 
(Controllers:  at  left,  M.  Yourievitch;  at  right,  M. 
d'Arsonval.)  Eusapia  asks  if  M.  Bergson  (who  is 
outside  of  the  chain)  sees  both  her  knees.  M.  Berg- 
son  :  'Very  well.' " 


THE  ESTABLISHED  FACT  95 

The  table  suddenly  rises  from  all  four  feet.  M. 
Yourievitch:  "I  am  sure  that  I  did  not  loose  her 
hand." 

M.  cPArsonval:  "I,  also." 

Another  Case.  Everyone  is  standing.  At  the 
request  of  Eusapia,  M.  Courtier  holds  her  limbs; 
the  table  rises  with  its  four  feet  about  fifty  centi- 
meters above  the  carpet. 

M.  Debierne:  "Her  hand  was  upon  the  table." 

M.  Courtier:  "I  hold  both  her  legs." 

The  table  is  lifted  a  second  time  under  the  same 
conditions. 

Let  us  cite  a  last  example,  in  which  the  conditions 
of  evidence  seem  absolute:  p.  472. 

The  small  table  (placed  to  the  left  of  Eusapia, 
fifty  centimeters  from  her  chair) ,  is  completely  lifted 
while  Eusapia's  feet  are  fastened  to  the  feet  of  her 
chair,  by  the  laces  of  her  boots,  and  her  wrists  at- 
tached to  the  wrists  of  the  controllers. 

Reaching  in  its  ascension  the  height  of  M.  Curie's 
shoulders  it  turns  over,  with  feet  in  air,  then  alights, 
its  top  against  the  top  of  the  large  table.  The 
movement  is  not  rapid,  but  appears  to  be  carefully 
guided.  Controllers:  at  left,  M.  Curie;  at  right, 
M.  Yourievitch. 

Neither  Curie,  nor  Fielding,  nor  Yourievitch,  nor 
Courtier,  under  whose  eyes  the  occurrence  took  place 
in  a  light  sufficient  to  analyze  its  phases,  noticed  at 
this  moment  any  suspicious  movement  of  the  sub- 
ject, who  remained,  as  has  been  stated,  bound  hand 
and  foot. 

****** 
We  have'  felt  that  facts  so  simple,  so  clear,  ofe" 


96         PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

served  in  broad  daylight,  subjected  to  an  absolute 
control,  and  affirmed  without  restriction  by  scholarly 
authorities,  could  not  be  denied,  save  by  persons 
suffering  from  cerebral  anemia.  That  is  also  the 
opinion  of  Dr.  Flournoy,  the  eminent  psychologist, 
who,  still  hostile  to  our  theories,  but  a  conscientious 
scholar,  bows  before  the  facts  and  concludes: 

"The  report  of  the  General  Psychological  Insti- 
tute is  overwhelming.  ...  I  feel  that  the  report 
constitutes  a  shining  and  decisive  testimony  in  so 
much  as  there  can  be  anything  decisive  in  science." 

And  the  reader  will  draw  the  same  conclusion,  we 
trust. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS 

It  seems  certain  that  in  cases  like  those  I  cite, 
we  have  the  proof  of  a  thought,  an  intelligence  at 
work  in  ourselves,  and  distinct  from  our  own 
personalities. 

SIR  JOHN  HERSCHELL. 

AFTER  having  established  the  materialism  of  these 
facts,  let  us  now  examine  the  intelligence  which  they 
manifest  and  the  sense  in  which  they  can  be  inter- 
preted. 

Heavy  bodies  moved  by  exterior  substance  can 
obey  the  most  diverse  agents.  It  is  generally  ad- 
mitted that  these  movements  can  be  directed  by  the 
subconscious  element  or  by  surrounding  ideas;  but 
there  is  a  fact  which  has  been  proved  by  observation, 
and  which  is  no  longer  to  be  denied — that  the  mo- 
tive agent  can  be  a  living  person,  present  or  not 
at  the  time  of  the  experience,  and  even,  sometimes, 
very  far  from  the  medium. 

These  cases  are  valuable  for  study,  since  they 
are  the  only  ones  that  show  with  certainty  the  agent 
who  calls  forth  the  phenomenon.  In  the  discovery 
of  this  source  we  have  been  able  to  distinguish 
telepathy  from  organic  disorders.  Thus,  we  may 
affirm  that  not  only  organs,  but  also  inert  bodies, 
when  they  are  enveloped  by  the  animic  influx,  can 
be  moved  telepathically,  although  the  person  who 
97 


98        PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

thinks  is  wholly  unconscious  of  the  effect  produced. 
And  it  is  well  to  guard  against  attributing  this 
phenomenon  to  an  unconscious  agent,  since  conscious- 
ness is  present;  it  is  found  in  the  active  agent  who 
is  conscious  of  these  ideas. 

When  one  has  a  true  medium  and  when  a  table 
becomes  animated  after  a  suitable  preparation,  take 
a  pack  of  cards,  place  one  that  no  one  has  seen  in 
the  center  of  the  table  and  ask  who  can  guess  the 
placed  card;  most  often  you  will  have  no  response, 
or  will  obtain  only  deplorable  gropings.  But  stay 
on  the  outside  of  the  circle,  begin  the  trial  again 
with  a  card  that  you  alone  have  seen,  and  the  table 
will  divine  accurately. 

Here  is  a  proof  of  transmission  of  thought.  Here 
you  will  be  the  active  agent,  the  exterior  substance 
will  be  at  the  same  time  sensitive  and  active;  it  will 
divine  in  you  the  thought  formed  and  will  find,  in 
itself,  the  force  which  permits  it  to  rise  spontane- 
ously at  the  opportune  moment. 

Such  an  organism,  exteriorized,  that  is  to  say, 
acting  outside  of  the  physiological  center  which  is 
its  normal  habitat,  is  open  to  all  influences,  exposed 
to  all  caprices,  and  it  often  becomes  a  mirror  of 
errors  and  incoherences.  Thus  is  shown  a  mani- 
festation of  an  inferior  order. 

Nevertheless  we  see  that,  in  the  same  field  of 
mysterious  force,  an  intelligence  is  manifested  which 
shows  itself  independent;  some  special  circumstance 
permits  the  discovery  of  the  agent  which  has  brought 
this  reaction,  and  it  happens  that  this  was  a  living 
person,  unknown  to  the  audience — one  who  sent  true 
messages.  There  is  a  manifestation  which  becomes 
instructive,  as  it  is  of  a  much  higher  degree. 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  99 

Finally,  the  influence  changes  again,  a  mysterious 
entity  seems  to  take  possession  of  this  force,  and, 
through  it,  gives  responses  which  it  is  impossible  to 
attribute  to  a  living  person,  and  makes  revelations 
which  seem  to  establish  the  identity  of  one  deceased. 
Therein  is  the  transcendent  manifestation. 

Numerous  examples  of  these  three  degrees  of 
manifestations  are  found  in  special  works.  What- 
ever we  say  of  table-tipping,  we  could  also  say  of 
automatic  writing,  and  one  sees  by  this,  what  close 
relations  unite  all  these  phenomena.  Telepathy  acts 
as  well,  directly  upon  the  interior  sensorium,  as  in- 
directly upon  the  secondary  organs  and  the  motor 
centers,  and  even,  as  is  the  case  around  a  table,  upon 
the  animic  substance  which  seems  to  overflow  cor- 
poreal form  as  the  field  of  magnetic  force  spreads 
around  the  braces  of  a  magnet. 

Thus,  pure  thought  tends  to  produce  upon  all 
sensitive  organs,  visual  and  auditory  images,  etc., 
and  even  motive  images  which  produce  the  so-called 
unconscious  movements.  A  phenomenon  is  capri- 
cious, it  responds  to  our  demands,  it  defers  to  our 
desires,  but  it  does  not  obey  our  will.  Good  com- 
munications, however,  are  rare,  because  the  nebulous 
psychic  constitutes,  in  a  manner,  an  amorphous  be- 
ing as  long  as  a  directing  entity  has  not  taken 
possession  of  it.  A  true  communication  can  only 
be  obtained  in  as  far  as  an  intelligence  intervenes 
strong  enough  to  set  aside  the  unformed  thoughts 
which  create  confusion. 

It  may  be,  however,  that  we  hold  the  fact  as  a 
revelation.  Each  time  that  we  have  been  able  to 
trace  back  to  the  source  of  an  automatic  message, 
we  have  found  it  in  a  living  person.  We  are  very 


100      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

certain  then  that  the  telepathic  action  we  have  seen 
affect  sensitive  centers  can  exert  a  similar  influence 
upon  the  excitomotor  centers,  and  thus  create  an 
altogether  automatic  mode  of  correspondence.  A 
person  physiologically  endowed  to  produce  automa- 
tic writing  is  alone  in  her  home;  a  force  incites  her 
to  take  a  pencil ;  and  she  writes : 

"Your  friend  wishes  to  see  you,  he  is  at  present 
on  a  certain  street,  such  and  such  a  number." 

You  hurry  there  and  find  the  message  to  be  true. 

Another  writes:  "Your  friend  X is  coming  to 

see  you,  he  has  taken  the  'bus  at  such  a  station,  in 
half  an  hour  he  will  be  with  you." 

It  is  not  the  consciousness  of  the  subject  that 
writes  these  things;  nor  is  it  the  consciousness  of 
the  friend;  the  psychic  force  draws  from  somewhere 
the  clairvoyance  of  which  it  gives  proof.  The  rest 
is  formed  according  to  the  ordinary  processes  of 
thought;  that  which  we  do  ourselves  in  writing  is 
well  known;  we  think  the  written  form;  and  the  rest 
is  mechanical — the  thought  is  equivalent  to  the  ac- 
tion. Starting  from  there,  one  can  and  one  should 
admit  the  presence  of  a  third  conscious  entity,  wit- 
ness of  the  actions  of  the  friend  X ,  and  inform- 
ing the  medium  by  thinking  through  her  organism. 
It  is  not  necessary,  even,  that  this  third  person  be 
conscious  of  the  effect  which  she  produces;  with  the 
medium  thus  endowed  many  things  may  be  perceived 
as  though  by  chance. 

I  see  no  reason,  however,  for  not  admitting  a 
voluntary  and  conscious  intervention  in  the  presence 
of  clearly  formulated  expression. 

When  a  medium  who  writes  takes  the  pen  and 
indicates  with  great  precision  the  means  of  finding 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  101 

a  lost  article,  people  at  once  say:  "Cryptomnesia," 
but  the  medium  is  altogether  a  stranger  to  those 
who  consult  her  on  the  lost  article,  and  if  the  con- 
sultant has  not  lost  this  article  himself,  there  can 
be  no  question  of  cryptomnesia.  This  knowledge 
must  exist  elsewhere  than  in  the  memory,  and  some 
intelligence  must  formulate  the  phrase  which  can 
start  the  motive  mechanism  only  by  an  active 
thought;  and  an  intelligence  is  necessary,  foreign 
to  the  medium  and  the  consultant,  in  order  to  know 
what  neither  of  them  could  know. 

I  believe,  all  the  more,  in  the  intervention  of  an 
occult  intelligence,  as  the  motor  center  is  incapable 
of  producing  anything  but  movement.  Neither  is  it 
easy  to  explain  writing  in  a  mirror,  writing  back- 
wards, the  inversion  of  letters  and  syllables,  etc. 
These  games  are  difficult  and  would  necessitate  sus- 
tained attention.  They  certainly  are  not  born  in 
the  thought  of  the  audience;  they  are  the  automatic 
reflection  of  something  which  is  thought  in  the 
Beyond. 

Sometimes  the  intelligence  versifies  and  exacts  an 
answer  in  rhyme.  These  are  indications  that  we  are 
not  concerned  with  ganglionary  intelligences. 

Cryptomnesia — Cryptomnesia!  Now,  we  believe 
that  a  conscious  cerebration  is  necessary  for  a 
coherent  wording.  If  these  things  reflect  the  men- 
tality of  the  experimenters,  it  is  because  there  is 
somewhere  an  intelligence  which  gives  the  form  and 
expression  to  their  own  thought  which  it  reflects. 

In  vain  you  will  call  that  subconsciousness.  These 
are  thoroughly  active  states  of  consciousness,  cap- 
able as  we  of  influencing  an  organism,  and  knowing 
our  language,  philosophy,  and  sciences.  [They  are 


102      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

cognizant  of  the  effects  they  have  produced.  I 
should  be  interested  to  meet  an  opponent  capable  of 
maintaining  that  an  unconscious  person  can  act  in 
a  state  of  unconsciousness.  They  are  not  rare,  how- 
ever, those  naive  people  who  still  believe  that  psychic 
phenomena  receive  some  elucidation  from  the  theory 
of  the  unconscious  agent. 

It  is  time  to  denounce  this  nonsense.  Subcon- 
sciousness  is  the  life  of  the  heart  and  stomach;  it 
is  my  digestion.  Subconsciousness  is  also  the 
mechanism  of  what  is  already  very  well  known,  that 
no  longer  has  need  of  conscious  direction :  the  cyclist 
holds  his  equilibrium  subconsciously.  It  is,  then,  at 
the  most,  memory,  insofar  as  it  functions  without 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  subject.  This  is 
active  subconsciousness,  and  I  defy  anyone  to  point 
out  another. 

Automatic  writing  is  a  motive  action  exercised 
over  the  head  of  the  subject  in  his  inferior  organs. 
This  action  reveals  an  autonomous  intelligence  and 
a  knowledge  foreign  to  the  medium. 

Sometimes  the  subconscious  agent  is  not  content 
to  act  intelligently;  it  might  also  act  physically  in 
suppressing  effort  and  fatigue. 

Nor  should  we  forget  the  speaking  medium.  The 
process  is  always  the  same,  that  is  to  say,  a  force 
which  passes  over  the  will  of  the  subject  coerces  his 
organs:  and  this  force  always  gives  proof  of 
intelligence  and  special  knowledge.  For  instance, 
the  special  knowledge  will  be  in  speaking  a  language 
unknown  to  the  medium.  The  foreign  influence  must 
be  indispensable  here. 

Sometimes  great  forces  seem  to  be  unloosed.  Thus, 
during  the  persecutions  which  followed  the  Revoca- 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  103 

tion  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  an  unknown  power  in- 
vaded a  whole  region.  In  Dauphine,  in  Cevennes 
very  little  children  who  had  never  spoken  a  word, 
in  sections  where  they  spoke  mostly  a  patois,  would 
deliver  in  excellent  French  most  remarkable  dis- 
courses, which  revived  the  courage  of  the  persecuted. 
The  Catholic  children,  inspired  by  the  same  force, 
spoke  with  the  same  import  as  the  Protestants,  that 
is,  against  their  own  church.  This  special  case  is 
no  more  clearly  explained  by  fanaticism  than  by 
subconsciousness.  Whoever  is  possessed  by  this  in- 
fluence has  no  idea  of  the  words  spoken  until  he 
has  given  them  utterance.  A  case  which  it  is  not 
possible  to  challenge,  is  that  of  the  daughter  of 
Judge  Edmund ;  the  force  which  mastered  her  organs 
made  her  speak  ten  or  twelve  languages,  perhaps 
more. 

And  these  are  not  the  only  motive  faculties  which 
fall  under  the  domination  of  a  foreign  power;  there 
are  still  the  sensitive  faculties. 

Note  well  this  difference.  Just  now,  we  passed 
over  the  subject's  will  to  make  use  of  his  organs; 
now  we  shall  efface  before  him  the  existing  realities 
in  order  to  penetrate  more  easily  into  his  sensibility. 
It  is  the  real  world  which  has  entirely  disappeared, 
to  give  place  for  a  symbolic  vision;  it  is  anaesthesia 
imposed  upon  exterior  organs  before  the  image  shows 
itself,  before  the  vision  appears,  whose  aim  would 
seem  incontestable  and  whose  usefulness  immediate. 

Thus  it  is  that  a  lady  sees  the  image  of  her  mother 
lying  upon  the  floor  and,  without  inquiring  into  her 
vision,  goes  to  find  the  doctor  before  returning  home 
and  saves  the  patient  by  going  direct  to  the  scene 
of  the  accident. 


104       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT^WORLD 

At  other  times  it  is  the  auditory  sense  which  is 
affected.  Doctor  Smith,  alone  in  his  study,  hears 
these  words:  "Send  some  bread  to  the  house  of 
James  Gandy."  The  doctor  does  not  know  the  ad- 
dress and  hesitates.  "Send  some  bread  to  the  house 
of  James  Gandy,"  the  same  voice  repeats  more 
strongly,  and  three  times  he  hears  the  same  injunc- 
tion. At  the  bakery,  a  young  boy  is  found  at  the 
door  of  the  shop  and  is  ordered  to  carry  bread  to 
this  address  which  is  unknown  to  the  doctor;  there 
the  children  are  crying  with  hunger,  before  their 
mother,  who  is  praying  God  to  send  her  something.1 

Oh,  I  know  the  explanation  that  will  be  given! — 
the  emotional  state  of  the  mother  was  such  that  it 
struck  the  percipiency  of  the  good  doctor.  All  of 
that  does  not  explain  the  auditory  phenomenon  in 
the  form  in  which  it  was  perceived.  Here  took  place 
what  I  call  mirror  action,  an  intelligence  which  re- 
ceives the  prayer  of  the  mother,  and  which  produces 
the  sensorial  hallucination  in  creating  the  formula 
adapted  to  the  circumstances.  There  are  many  cases, 
to  my  knowledge,  where  some  particularly  united 
persons  have  perceived  these  emotional  states  at  a 
distance.  It  was  then  the  psychic  bond  which  estab- 
lished a  direct  communication;  but  in  these  cases  the 
sensitive  one  heard  the  same  words  which  had  been 
spoken  or  thought  a  great  distance  from  him.  Here 
is  another  consideration;  the  doctor  did  not  hear, 
"Oh  God,  send  me  some  bread;"  he  did  not  hear, 
"I  am  hungry,  Mother,"  nor  any  other  word  of  the 
scene  itself;  he  merely  received  a  reiterated  sum- 
mons. The  emotional  state  which  struck  him  was 
not  that  of  an  imploring  person,  but  that  of  one 

i  Case  287— Phantasms  of  the  Living. 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  105 

who  commands.  I  do  not  see  what  telepathic  proc- 
ess could  thus  transpose  the  effects.  I  see  nothing 
other  than  conscious  and  reflecting  intelligence.  Nor 
is  telepathy  a  source  that  may  be  invoked  when  the 
phenomenon  interests  only  one  person. 

Thus  a  woman  in  her  bath  received  a  summons 
to  unlock  the  door ;  stupefaction,  resistance,  and  the 
order  was  reiterated  until  she  had  unlocked  the  door. 
Later  her  maid  found  her  in  a  faint  in  the  bath  tub, 
and  she  would  certainly  have  been  drowned  had  it 
not  been  possible  to  open  the  door. 

There  is  no  subconscious  explanation  which  gives 
a  reason  for  these  things  that  can  also  present  them- 
selves under  other  forms ;  for  example,  an  aged  lady, 
in  a  dark  corridor,  was  about  to  fall  into  the  open 
shaft  of  an  elevator,  in  which  the  car  had  descended. 
A  phantom  barred  her  way.  Hallucination?  Yes, 
without  doubt,  but  intelligent  hallucination,  pro- 
voked at  an  opportune  time  by  a  guardian  spirit. 
Every  other  interpretation  becomes  too  complicated. 

All  this  does  not  prevent  writing,  unconscious 
movements,  automatic  speaking,  and  visual  and 
auditory  images  from  appearing  in  their  purely 
physiological  form;  but  in  this  case  the  explanation 
is  simple  and  does  not  become  entangled  in  the  diffi- 
culties encountered  in  the  preceding  cases. 

I  have  just  cited  two  examples  of  timely  warnings. 
The  following  is  another  which  seems  of  the  same 
type,  although  it  be  purely  physiological.  Myers 
gives  us  this  example  as  an  explanation  of  illusions 
in  which  the  spiritists  fail,  but  his  comparison  is 
unjustified. 

A  lady,  standing  before  her  fireplace,  held  in  one 
hand  a  bank  note  which  she  was  preparing  to  put 


106      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

into  her  drawer;  in  the  other,  a  letter  which  was 
to  be  thrown  into  the  fireplace.  Mechanically  she 
reread  the  letter;  then,  when  she  had  finished  it,  and 
without  paying  attention  to  her  act,  she  made  an 
inverse  gesture.  The  letter  was  going  in  the  drawer, 
the  money  into  the  flames.  But  her  arms  stiffened 
and  could  not  execute  the  movement.  They  had  re- 
ceived a  general  inhibition.  Perhaps  this  lady  be- 
lieved in  the  intervention  of  a  protective  intelligence, 
but  the  physiological  process  is  rather  clear,  never- 
theless. There  is  in  each  functional  organ  a  sensi- 
tive consciousness.  Consciousness  A  was  given  an 
order  to  grasp  the  bank  note;  consciousness  B, 
equally  expectant,  was  ready  for  the  execution  of 
a  different  order — to  put  the  letter  into  the  fire. 
Unknown  to  the  lady,  each  motive  center  was  only 
awaiting  its  final  command  for  the  execution;  at  the 
precise  moment  when  the  gesture  would  become 
executory,  the  lady  sent  a  suggestion  in  a  contrary 
sense  that  produced  a  contraction.  The  lady  hap- 
pened to  be  exactly  in  the  situation  of  the  drill  ser- 
geant who  is  confused  in  commanding  his  platoon — 
the  order  is  not  regular,  and  no  one  moves. 

This  is  a  purely  physiological  explanation.  Can 
we  apply  it  to  the  preceding  phenomenon?  It  is 
very  evident  that  the  inferior  organism  of  the  other 
lady  had  no  knowledge  of  the  position  of  the  eleva- 
tor; hence  the  form  of  the  phenomenon,  owing  to 
subconsciousness,  would  have  been  general  inhibition 
— the  lady  would  have  been  unable  to  advance.  In- 
stead, what  do  we  find?  An  hallucinary  and  pre- 
servative form — that  is  entirely  different;  and  we 
know  that  hallucinations,  when  they  are  not  un- 
healthy, are  provoked  by  the  emotional  states  of  the 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  107 

persons  with  whom  we  are  sympathetic.  This  lady 
can  very  well,  then,  have  seen  an  image  created  by 
the  emotional  state  of  an  invisible  friend.  But  it  is 
above  all  when  the  motive  agent  is  a  living  person 
that  this  statement  becomes  interesting. 

Perty  tells  the  following  fact  which  is  reported  By 
Aksakof:1 

Sophie  Swoboda,  because  of  a  family  party,  had 
been  unable  to  prepare  her  lessons.  She  quit  the 
company  for  a  moment,  and  while  she  was  alone 
found  herself,  mentally,  face  to  face  with  her  teacher. 
It  seemed  that  she  spoke  to  the  teacher,  explaining 
her  neglect  and  expressing  her  regrets;  and  then, 
rejoining  the  party,  she  imparted  to  the  guests  what 
had  just  happened  to  her.  At  the  same  time  the 
instructress,  who  was  a  writing  medium,  took  a 
pencil  and  communicated  with  her  husband;  the 
communication  stopped  short  and  a  handwriting, 
that  she  recognized  as  Sophie's,  warned  her  that  the 
lesson  was  not  prepared.  She  carried  the  original 
writing  to  her  pupil.  It  was  the  same  text,  with  the 
same  pleasant  expressions,  which  Sophie  had  em- 
ployed in  her  fictitious  conversation  with  the  in- 
structress. 

From  this  example,  and  many  others,  we  are  en- 
titled to  reject  the  conclusion  of  those  who  claim 
that  automatic  writing  emanates  always  from  the 
one  who  produces  it.  The  secret  depths  of  subcon- 
sciousness  are  certainly  possible  sources;  but  it  is 
not  safe  to  generalize  from  that,  since  cryptomnesia 
is  out  of  the  question  in  many  cases  whose  motive 
agents  are  known  to  us. 

Aksakof   cites    as   well   the   example  of  [Thomas 

i  Animism  and  Spiritism,  p.  478. 


108       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

Everitt,  whose  wife  was  a  medium,  and  who  by  her 
mediation,  corresponded  with  one  of  his  friends. 
Florence  Marryat,  moreover,  reports  that  she  wrote 
with  her  own  hands  a  communication  coming  from 
a  sleeping  person;  and  W.  Stead,  the  great  jour- 
nalist, corresponded  at  a  distance  with  his  son  and 
several  other  living  persons. 

In  closing,  let  us  note  that  between  a  table  mes- 
sage and  a  written  one,  there  is  no  essential  differ- 
ence; these  are  the  same  forces  which  animate  either 
an  organism,  or  inanimate  matter,  and  the  effects 
differ  only  by  reason  of  the  imperfection  of  the 
means. 

An  example  which  discloses,  with  the  same  evi- 
dence, the  motive  source  of  a  communication  obtained 
with  a  table,  is  taken  from  the  ninth  volume  of  the 
Proceedings  of  the  S.  F.  P.  R.,  p.  48.  We  can  give 
only  a  resume. 

Case  of  Mrs.  Kirby. 

Mrs.  Kirby  lived  in  Santa  Cruz,  California,  on 
a  ranch,  where  was  employed  an  illiterate  young 
English  sailor  named  Thomas  Travers. 

While  they  were  trying  an  experiment  with  a  table 
among  the  family,  the  table  spelled  the  name  of 
Mary  Howels,  entirely  unknown  to  those  present. 
Mary  Howels,  however,  declared  that  she  was  the 
sister  of  Thomas  Travers,  which  implied  a  contra- 
diction because,  having  also  stated  that  she  was  not 
married,  she  would  have  borne  the  same  name  as  her 
brother.  The  latter,  on  being  questioned,  admitted 
with  embarrassment  that  he  had  changed  his  name 
since  leaving  the  service  of  a  whaling-vessel,  fearing 
that  he  would  be  recalled  by  the  maritime  draft. 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  109 

In  reality  his  name  was  indeed  Howels.  Mary 
Howels  then  spelled  out :  "I  have  a  child,  a  daughter ; 
she  is  seven  years  old  and  lives  at  present  on  Cat 
Street  in  an  evil  house.  I  wish  that  my  brother 
might  take  her  away  from  there." 

Thomas,  being  illiterate,  did  not  grasp  the  mean- 
ing of  this  message  and  they  hesitated  to  tell  him. 
But  finally  they  said:  "Your  sister  claims  that  she 
has  a  little  girl  seven  years  old" — Tom  counted  on 
his  fingers  and  replied — "That  is  true,  seven  years 
to-day."  The  rest  of  the  message  moved  him  deeply 
and  he  promised  to  send  fifty  dollars  the  following 
month.  But  they  asked  him  if  there  was  really  a 
Cat  Street  in  Plymouth,  England,  for  that  was  the 
original  home  of  the  false  Travers.  "Yes,"  he  an- 
swered, "and  it  is  in  the  worst  section  of  the  city." 

During  the  following  days,  Mary  Howels  mani- 
fested herself  anew,  announcing  that  her  child  was 
ill.  Later,  she  was  worse,  then  she  said  her  daughter 
was  dying  and  finally  confirmed  her  death.  "Well," 
they  replied  to  her,  "She  is  now  with  you."  "No," 
answered  the  table. 

Strangely  enough,  the  witnesses  had  continued 
this  dialogue  in  the  belief  that  they  were  conversing 
with  the  spirit  of  Mary  Howels  deceased;  but  she 
was  living;  they  had  forgotten  to  question  her  on 
this  subject. 

That  became  interesting.  Mrs.  Kirby  decided 
someone  should  write  cautiously  to  Thomas'  parents, 
and  this  she  did  in  his  name,  asking  news  of  the 
child.  An  answer  came  saying  all  were  well  save 
Mary's  daughter,  who  was  dead. 

The  seances  had  been  held  in  Santa  Cruz,  Cali- 
fornia, and  Mary  Howels  was  in  Plymouth,  England. 


110      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

The  time  in  Santa  Cruz,  between  seven  and  nine  (the 
time  of  the  seances)  corresponded  to  the  middle  of 
the  night  in  Plymouth.  Thus  the  thoughts  of  Mary 
Howels  were  exteriorized  during  her  sleep,  and  it 
was  the  transmission  of  these  thoughts  that  caused 
the  table  movement  in  Santa  Cruz. 

The  Commission  of  the  Psychical  Society  cor- 
responded with  Mrs.  Kirby  upon  this  subject;  and 
in  the  hope  of  verifying  the  story,  she  wrote  to  the 
Post  Office  in  Plymouth  to  ascertain  if  the  above- 
named  street  really  existed.  The  following  reply 
was  received: 

Post  Office,  Plymouth, 

January  23,  1888. 
SIB: 

In  reply  to  your  favor  of  the  21st  inst.,  I  am  able 
to  inform  you,  that  until  a  few  years  ago,  there  was 
a  street  here,  called  Catte  Street,  and  it  is  at  present 
named  StiUman  Street. 

Yours  very  truly, 
R.  A.  LEVERTON, 
for  the  director. 

It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  explain  the  automatic 
phenomenon;  it  is  often  possible  to  determine  its 
agents.  Render  unto  subconsciousness  that  which 
belongs  to  subconsciousness,  and  unto  the  spirit  that 
which  belongs  to  the  spirit. 

The  human  mind  has  sufficiently  proven  its  power 
to  influence  the  organs;  one  can  no  longer  deny  it 
this  faculty,  which  we  judge  normal,  when  it  is  exer- 
cised by  ourselves,  and  abnormal  when  an  outside 
agent  substitutes  itself  for  our  normal  action.  When 
It  is  a  question  of  telepathy  or  automatism,  it  is  the 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  111 

same  phenomenon  which  affects,  in  the  first  case,  the 
sensitive  centers,  in  the  second,  the  excito-motor 
centers,  and  which  produces,  in  the  one,  images,  and 
in  the  other,  movements.  Henceforth,  we  know  then, 
a  possible  motor  agent  of  the  phenomenon  of  un- 
conscious automatism;  it  is,  indeed,  the  human 
person,  an  exterior  source,  foreign  to  the  organs, 
which  provokes  the  movement.  This  established,  we 
cannot  fail  to  wonder  if  the  proof  of  a  life  in  the 
Beyond  could  be  given  us,  in  the  same  way,  in  case 
a  disembodied  spirit  could  exert  upon  us  a  telepathic 
action  followed  by  the  same  results. 

Incontestably,  this  proof  has  been  given  us;  but 
one  can  always  escape  from  it  by  supposing  that 
there  exists  in  the  Beyond  beings  different  from  us 
but  corresponding  with  us  and  knowing  our  language, 
so  that  they  are  enabled  to  play  the  roles  of  our 
disembodied  friends,  with  an  aim  in  view  which  we 
cannot  comprehend.  It  is  for  the  reader  to  judge 
the  probability  of  this  interpretation. 

We  have  an  experiment  made  some  years  ago,  by 
Doctor  Ermacora,  founder  of  the  Review  of  Psychic 
Studies  (La  Revue  des  Etudes  Psychiques). 

The  doctor  had  a  subject,  Miss  Manzini,  who  had 
given  him  phenomena  of  spiritistic  appearance  of 
the  best  quality.  He  asked  the  personality  in  the 
Beyond,  who  was  manifested  by  automatic  writing 
under  the  name  of  Elvira,  to  give  him  a  proof  of 
her  objective  reality,  by  a  direct  action  which  she 
was  to  exert  upon  a  little  girl  of  five  years. 

The  proof  of  Elvira  was  to  consist  in  the  creation 
of  a  dream,  entirely  imagined  by  Dr.  Ermacora, 
which  the  child  could  recount  upon  awakening. 

Naturally,  it  was  necessary  to  assure  the  complete 


112       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

isolation  of  the  child,  an  orphan,  who  was  then  liv- 
ing with  the  medium,  Miss  Manzini,  who  had  her 
mother  with  her  also. 

The  child,  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  experiment 
that  was  to  be  tried,  was  removed  to  another  part 
of  the  house  and  was  often  already  asleep  when  the 
doctor  dictated  the  scope  of  the  dream. 

All  verbal  communication  was  rendered  impossibe 
through  seals  affixed  by  the  doctor  upon  the  doors 
of  the  room  where  Miss  Manzini  slept,  the  other  per- 
son being  ignorant  of  the  prepared  subject.  The 
doctor  himself  would  come  to  break  the  seals  the 
next  morning  and  the  child  would  be  questioned. 

The  experiments  numbered  one  hundred.  For 
subject  matter  of  the  dreams,  they  chose  scenes  most 
incompatible  with  the  knowledge  of  the  child  .  .  . 
balloon  ascensions,  tempests,  trips  to  the  mountains, 
etc. 

Here  are  some  examples : 1 

No.  76.  Subject  of  the  Dream.  The  Child  will 
be  a  blacksmith,  out  of  work,  who  will  go  to  ask 
employment  from  the  farrier,  who  lives  in  a  certain 
street  of  Padua.  The  latter,  to  test  the  skill  of 
the  workman,  will  give  him  a  horse-shoe  to  fashion. 
While  Angeline,  the  blacksmith,  is  forging  it,  the 
iron  will  break  in  pieces  and  they  will  discharge  her 
on  this  account. 

"In  the  morning,"  wrote  Dr.  Ermacora,  "I  found 
the  seals  intact  and  the  dream  had  taken  place  in 
its  least  details.  The  child  could  not  tell  the  name 
of  the  street,  but  she  described  it  exactly." 

Let  me  mention  also  this  curious  theme,  which 
succeeded. 

i  Taken  from  the  book  by  Mr.  Sage,  The  Frontier  Zone. 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  113 

No.  82.  The  child  will  be  an  ant  dragging  a 
crumb  of  bread. 

And  this  other: 

No.  98.  Subject  of  the  Dream.  The  child  will 
be  a  Frenchman,  a  professor  at  the  University  of 
Tokio.  A  friend  will  send  him  as  a  present  ten 
bottles  of  Bordeaux,  asking  him  to  analyze  the  wind 
to  learn  if  it  contains  iron;  iron  will  be  found  in  it. 

Finally,  I  requested  Miss  Marie  to  give  verbally, 
two  or  three  times,  to  the  child,  already  asleep  in 
another  room,  the  suggestion  to  dream  that  she  was 
playing  with  a  red  ball. 

The  same  control  as  in  No.  80.  The  child  re- 
counted her  dream  as  usual  to  Mme.  Annette,  who 
reported  it  to  me.  In  the  dream  she  was  an  old 
gentleman  who  taught  young  people  speaking  an- 
other language.  Another  gentleman  sent  her  a  gift 
of  several  bottles  of  wine,  she  did  not  know  the  exact 
number,  but  thought  it  was  eight  or  nine.  She 
poured  into  this  wine  a  little  of  the  contents  of  a 
bottle  and  the  wine  became  entirely  black ;  she  added, 
there  was  iron  in  it.  Mme.  Annette,  not  understand- 
ing the  meaning  of  these  words,  said  to  her:  "But 
if  the  wine  contained  iron,  this  iron  would  have 
broken  the  bottles!"  To  which  the  child  replied: 
"No !  no !  the  wine  simply  tasted  of  iron."  The 
chemical  reaction  dreamed  by  the  child  conforms  to 
the  truth,  for  iron  really  produces  a  very  dark 
coloration.  It  must  be  noted  that  neither  the  little 
girl  nor  Miss  Marie  Manzini  have  the  least  notion 
of  chemistry.  So  we  have  the  right  to  suppose  the 
intervention  of  another  intelligence.  There  was  no 
dream  of  the  red  ball. 

I  know  there  is  a  ready  theory  for  cases  of  this 


114       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

kind,  that  of  the  subconscious  agent;  it  is  not  the 
will  that  acts,  but  the  idea  alone.  We  believe  that 
also,  except,  if  we  admit  that  the  idea  may  act 
mechanically,  outside  of  the  consciousness  of  the  one 
emitting  it,  it  becomes  most  absurd  to  suppose  that 
ideas,  in  a  state  of  repose  in  the  subconsciousness 
of  the  agent,  may  manifest  themselves  in  the  form 
of  a  discursive  thought,  or  in  the  manner  of  complex 
images,  in  coherent  order.  That  is  why  the  inter- 
vention from  the  other  world,  perceiving  the  idea, 
and  reviving  it  opportunely,  seems  to  us  much  better 
adapted  to  the  nature  of  the  phenomenon. 

Let  us  pass  to  another  phenomenon.  Automatic 
writing  gives  exact  information  unknown  to  all  the 
persons  present,  so  that  we  must  suppose  there  is 
somewhere  a  motive  force  acting  at  the  moment.  If 
it  be  a  deceased  spirit,  it  may  act  while  dying  as 
well  as  after  its  death.  These  spontaneous  cases 
can  almost  never  be  verified ;  however,  there  is  a  case 
of  this  kind  which  offers  the  advantage  of  having 
been  noted  by  an  eminent  specialist. 

Case  reported  by  Dr.  Liebault,  4,  rue  de  Bellevue, 
Nancy.1 

September  4,  1885. 

"I  hasten  to  write  to  you  concerning  the  act  of 
thought-transference,  of  which  I  spoke  when  you 
honored  me  with  your  presence  at  my  hypnotic 
seances  in  Nancy.2  This  occurence  took  place  in  a 
French  family  of  New  Orleans,  who  had  come  to 
live  for  a  time  in  Nancy  in  order  to  settle  some 
money  matters. 

1  Phantasms  of  the  Living.     London,  1886,  p.  293. 

2  Let  us  remark  in  passing,  there  is  no  thought-transference 
in  an  automatic  action. 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  115 

"One  day,  the  7th  of  February,  I  believe,  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  the  hour  for  break- 
fasting, Miss  B felt  a  need,  a  something  which 

urged  her  to  write  (it  was  what  she  called  a  trance), 
and  she  hurried  at  once  to  her  large  notebook,  where 
she  feverishly  penciled  indecipherable  characters. 
She  retraced  the  same  characters  upon  the  follow- 
ing pages,  and  finally,  the  excitement  of  her  mind 
growing  calmer,  it  could  be  read  that  a  person 
named  Marguerite  was  announcing  her  death.  She 
imagined  at  once  that  a  girl  of  this  name,  who  was 
her  friend  and  a  teacher  in  the  same  boarding-school 
of  Coblenz,  where  she  had  also  taught,  had  just  died. 

All  the  G family,  including  Miss  B came 

immediately  to  me  and  we  decided  to  discover,  on 
that  very  day,  whether  this  death  had  really  taken 
place. 

"Miss  B wrote  to  a  young  English  friend, 

who  was  also  an  instructor  at  the  school  in  question ; 
she  made  up  a  motive,  being  careful  not  to  reveal 
the  real  motive  of  her  letter.  By  return  post,  we 
received  a  reply  in  English,  the  essential  part  of 
which  was  copied  for  me — a  reply  which  I  found 
in  a  portfolio  scarcely  two  weeks  ago  and  have  mis- 
laid again.  It  expressed  the  surprise  of  the  English 

girl,  concerning  Miss  B 's  letter,  which  she  had 

not  expected  so  soon,  since  its  motive  did  not  seem 
sufficient  for  its  appearance.  But  at  the  same  time 
the  English  friend  hastened  to  tell  our  medium  that 
their  common  friend,  Marguerite,  had  died  on  the 
7th  of  February,  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
In  addition,  a  small  square  of  printed  paper  was 
inserted  in  the  letter — it  was  a  death  notice.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  tell  you  that  I  verified  the  envelope 
of  the  letter  and  that  it  seemed  to  me  to  have  really 
come  from  Coblenz." 


116      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

This  is,  therefore,  a  case  where  all  fraud  would 
have  been  impossible,  and  concerning  which  but  two 
hypotheses  remain:  either  the  motive  agent  was  the 
deceased  person  herself,  or  else  an  entity  from  the 
Beyond  expressed  the  active  thought,  indispensable 
to  transmission  of  the  message. 

We  shall  now  invalidate  the  first  of  these  hypothe- 
ses, by  quoting  another  case  in  which  the  dying  per- 
son could  not,  at  the  moment  of  his  death,  have 
influenced  the  subject.1 

"On  January  3rd,  1856,  the  steamboat  'ALICE,' 
which  my  brother  Joseph  then  commanded,  had  a 
collision  with  another  steamboat  on  the  Mississippi, 
upstream  from  New  Orleans.  By  reason  of  the 
shock,  the  flag  mast  or  pole  fell  with  great  violence, 
and  striking  my  brother  upon  the  head,  cracked  his 
skull.  Death  was  necessarily  instantaneous.  In  the 
month  of  October,  1867, 1  went  to  the  United  States. 
During  the  visit  I  made  in  my  father's  home,  at 
Camden,  New  Jersey,  the  tragic  death  of  my  brother 
naturally  became  the  subject  of  our  conversation. 
My  mother  then  told  me  that  she  had  seen  my 
brother  Joseph  appear  to  her  at  the  very  moment 
of  his  death.  The  fact  was  confirmed  by  my  father 
and  my  four  sisters.  The  distance  between  Camden, 
New  Jersey,  and  the  scene  of  the  accident  is  in  a 
direct  line  of  more  than  one  thousand  miles,  but 
this  distance  is  almost  double  by  the  postal  route. 
My  mother  spoke  of  the  apparition  to  my  father 
and  sisters  on  the  morning  of  January  4th,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  16th — that  is,  thirteen  days  later 
— that  a  letter  arrived,  confirming  in  its  least  de- 
tails, this  extraordinary  'visit.'  It  is  important 

i  Phantasms  of  the  Living,  Vol.  I,  p.  204,  taken  from  the 
French  translation  in  Hallucinations  TtUpathiques,  p.  117. 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  117 

to  note  that  my  brother  William  and  his  wife,  who 
now  live  in  Philadelphia,  then  resided  near  the  scene 
of  the  terrible  accident.  They  also  have  assured  me 
of  the  details  concerning  the  impression  produced 
upon  my  mother." 

Mrs.  Collyer's  Story. 

"On  the  3rd  of  January,  1856,  I  did  not  feel  well 
and  retired  early.  Sometime  afterwards,  I  felt  ill 
at  ease,  and  sat  up  in  bed.  I  looked  round  the  room 
and  to  my  very  great  astonishment,  saw  Joseph 
standing  near  the  door.  He  gazed  at  me  with  large 
mournful  eyes  and  his  head  was  swathed  with 
bandages.  He  wore  a  soiled  nightcap  and  a  white 
garment  like  a  surplice,  also  soiled.  He  was  entirely 
disfigured;  I  was  troubled  for  the  rest  of  the  night 
because  of  this  apparition,  etc." 

In  reply  to  a  request  for  enlightenment,  Dr. 
Collyer  wrote: 

"As  I  have  stated,  my  mother  received  the  spirit- 
ual impression  of  my  brother,  on  the  3rd  of  January, 
1856.  My  father,  who  is  a  scientist,  calculated  the 
difference  in  longitude  between  Camden,  New  Jer- 
sey, and  New  Orleans,  and  proved  that  the  spiritual 
impression  was  produced  at  the  exact  moment  of  my 
brother's  death.  I  may  say  that  I  have  never  be- 
lieved in  any  spiritual  communion,  as  I  have  never 
believed  that  the  phenomena  produced  when  the 
brain  is  excited  are  spiritual  phenomena.  For  forty 
years  I  have  been  a  materialist  and  am  convinced 
that  all  the  so-called  spiritual  manifestations  admit 
of  a  philosophic  explanation,  based  upon  physical 
laws  and  conditions.  I  do  not  wish  to  propound  a 
theory,  but  in  my  opinion,  there  existed  sympathetic 


118       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

bonds  of  relationship  between  my  mother  and 
brother,  who  was  her  favorite  son.  When  these 
bonds  were  broken  by  his  sudden  death,  my  mother 
was  at  the  time  in  a  condition  which  would  favor  the 
reception  of  the  shock.1 

"In  the  story  published  by  the  Spiritual  Maga- 
zine, I  omitted  to  say,  that  before  the  accident,  my 
brother  Joseph  had  retired  for  the  night  to  his 
bunk;  the  boat  was  moored  along  the  levee,  at  the 
time  it  was  struck  by  another  vessel  descending  the 
Mississippi.  Naturally,  my  brother  was  in  his  night 
clothes.  As  soon  as  he  was  called  and  someone  told 
him  a  steamboat  was  close  upon  his  own  boat,  he 
ran  up  on  deck.  These  details  were  told  to  me  by 
my  brother  William  who  was  at  that  very  time  upon 
the  scene  of  the  accident.  I  cannot  explain  how  the 
apparition  wore  bandages,  for  they  could  not  have 
put  them  upon  my  brother  until  sometime  after  his 
death.  The  difference  in  time  between  Camden,  New 
Jersey  and  New  Orleans,  is  almost  fifteen  degrees, 
that  is,  an  hour. 

"On  the  third  of  January,  my  mother  retired 
early,  about  eight  o'clock;  this  would  have  given 
seven  o'clock  (the  time  in  New  Orleans)  as  the  hour 
of  my  brother's  death." 

It  is  evident  that  a  death  so  sudden  would  render 
impossible  all  active  cerebration.  Moreover,  the 
victim  received  at  the  moment  of  the  accident  no 

iThe  reception  of  the  shock,  as  well  as  the  broken  bond, 
could  be  only  metaphors  upon  the  lips  of  a  materialist.  What 
shock  could  medullary  substance  produce  at  a  distance  of  a 
thousand  miles?  As  for  the  physical  bond,  if  it  be  real  it  is 
impossible  to  say  whether  it  is  material  or  not.  We  can  only 
accept  what  is  proven;  it  has  been  proved  that  force  may  act 
at  a  distance,  but  not  that  matter  may  so  act.  If  the  mind 
•CtS  at  a  distance,  it  is  because  it  is  a  force. 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  119 

visual  image;  therefore,  he  was  unable  to  transmit 
one.  However,  the  deceased  person  might  have 
looked  upon  his  own  corpse  and  have  been  the  motive 
agent  of  this  transmission. 

But  there  is  nothing  to  prove  that  the  image  was 
not  transmitted  by  another  witness  of  the  accident. 
Despite  the  affirmations  of  Dr.  Collyer,  who  claimed 
that  his  father  had  established  coincidence  in  cal- 
culating the  difference  in  longitude,  in  reality,  noth- 
ing was  proved,  the  report  is  silent  concerning  the 
hour  of  the  accident  and  that  of  the  vision.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  stated  that  the  brother  of  the 
victim  lived  in  the  neighborhood.  It  is  very  prob- 
able then,  that  he  had  already  seen  the  bandage  and 
night  clothes  of  the  victim  when  the  mother  received 
the  impression. 

Consequently,  it  was  the  brother  William,  who  in 
this  case  served  as  a  mirror,  and  it  is  he  who  may 
be  presumed  to  have  been  the  motive  agent. 

This  remark  is  important  because  it  is  too  often 
supposed  that  visions  of  this  kind,  produced  at  the 
moment  of  dying,  are  due  to  a  state  of  over-excite- 
ment preceding  death.  It  is  a  gratuitous  hypothesis, 
and  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  numerous  cases  from 
which  it  must  be  excluded. 

When  we  find  ourselves  incontestably  facing  a 
cast  of  post-mortem  apparation,  and  when  the  acci- 
dent has  had  no  witnesses,  a  still  bolder  hypothesis 
is  profounded,  that  of  retarded  telepathy. 

This  hypothesis  does  not  correspond  to  the  facts; 
there  must  be  an  intelligence  and  an  active  force  to 
explain  telepathy.  Also,  post-mortem  apparitions 
ordinarily  accompany  warnings  which  are  outside 


120       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

the  knowledge  of  all  living  persons,  as  in  the  follow- 
ing case: 

Resume  of  page  291,  Volume  V,  Proceedings  of 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 

"Mrs.  Brooks  was  traveling  in  Europe  and  had 
written  to  her  son,  employed  in  New  York  and 
living  in  Brooklyn,  to  join  her.  The  latter  replied, 
fixing  the  time  of  his  departure.  But  in  the  mean- 
time he  fell  ill,  and  his  mother  was  obliged  to  return 
home,  recalled  by  the  illness  of  her  son.  However, 
she  found  him  already  able  to  be  up,  and  the  doctor 
had  no  doubt  of  his  complete  recovery. 

"The  young  man  then  declared  that  a  Mr.  Hall, 
his  professor  and  friend,  who  had  died  about  five 
months  before,  had  appeared  to  him  and  warned  him 
that  he  would  die  of  heart  disease  on  Wednesday, 
the  5th  of  December,  at  three  o'clock. 

"Young  Brooks  had  never  had  the  least  heart 
trouble,  and  those  of  his  friends  to  whom  he  told  the 
warning  held  it  of  no  importance.  His  doctor  only 
laughed  and  assured  him  that  his  heart  was  in  perfect 
condition. 

"On  December  4th,  he  attended  a  funeral  with  a 
lady  in  whose  company  he  passed  the  evening.  He 
made  her  promise  that  she  would  come  to  see  him 
the  next  day  if  he  should  write  to  her.  The  doctor, 
on  his  side,  seeking  to  distract  the  patient  by 
physical  means,  applied  to  his  neck  a  blistering 
plaster. 

"Wednesday  morning  young  Brooks  arose  as  usual, 
breakfasted  comfortably,  and  according  to  all  ap- 
pearances seemed  destined  to  a  long  life ;  the  doctor 
left  him  without  the  least  disquietude.  The  young 
man  insisted  that  his  mother  should  not  remain  with 
him,  saying:  'It  would  kill  you  to  see  me  die.'  His 
mother,  in  order  to  appear  not  to  take  him  seriously, 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  121 

left  him  without  opposition,  but  proposing  to  return. 
At  two  o'clock  he  lunched  with  the  family,  then  feel- 
ing weak  asked  to  return  to  his  room  where  he  wrote 
to  the  young  lady,  who  arrived  in  twenty  minutes. 
"He  died  in  the  presence  of  his  family  ten  minutes 
after  three.  His  mother  and  the  doctor,  who  ar- 
rived a  few  moments  later,  were  stunned  to  find  the 
prediction  come  true." 

Mr.  Gurney,  who  verified  this  case,  wrote:  "He 
was  a  young  man  of  very  strong  character,  excep- 
tional mind,  and  splendid  physique." 

In  special  studies,  this  narrative  and  many  others 
in  similar  vein  always  figure  in  the  chapter  upon 
premonitions.  But  the  question  raised  is  how  a 
premonition  may  be  given  by  an  apparition  without 
consciousness  or  aim,  an  apparition  that  could  exist 
only  by  virtue  of  a  previously  expressed  thought, 
and  that  would  reach  the  subject  under  the  form  of 
retarded  telepathy. 

It  is  of  small  importance,  indeed,  that  the  ap- 
parition may  have  been  material,  or  spiritual,  or 
whether  it  resulted  from  a  simple  mental  vision.  We 
shall  not  seek  to  determine  its  exterior  nature,  but 
we  wish  to  know  if,  in  the  other  world,  there  is  an 
essential  entity  representing  the  active  force,  with- 
out which  not  one  of  these  phenomena  could  be 
produced. 

The  fact  of  determining  the  day  and  the  hour  of 
death  is  a  feat  beyond  human  powers,  and  auto- 
suggestion cannot  furnish  its  explanation.  A  definite 
fact  announced  by  a  definite  individual,  even  sup- 
posing that  this  agent  be  only  an  image  perceived 
by  the  subconsciousness,  necessitates  the  interven- 
tion of  an  intelligence  which  has  created  the  image 


122       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

as  in  a  mirror.  Whether  the  message  be  seen  or 
heard,  whether  it  be  expressed  by  a  vision  or  by 
automatic  writing,  from  the  moment  that  it  con- 
tains correct  information  unknown  to  everyone 
present,  we  are,  indeed,  obliged  to  conclude  that  a 
foreign  intelligence  is  the  determining  cause  of  these 
phenomena. 

There  is  another  fact  quoted  from  Human  Per- 
sonality, by  Frederick  Myers,  Vol.  II,  p.  244. 

"It  concerns  a  lady,  Eliza  Manners  (pseudonym). 
This  lady,  whom  the  author  had  known  during  her 
life,  having  been  dead  a  certain  time,  manifested 
herself  by  automatic  writing  the  day  after  the  death 

of  her  uncle,  a  certain  Mr.  F .     She  described 

an  incident  tending  to  prove  fully  that  she  had  really 
been  present  at  the  death-bed  of  her  uncle." 

Myers  in  his  work  cites  the  report  given  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 
Vol.  XII,  p.  378,  of  which  a  summary  follows  here: 

"The  notice  of  his  death  was  inserted  in  a  morning 
paper  in  Boston,  and  I  had  read  it  while  going  to 
a  seance  of  Mrs.  Piper.  At  this  seance  the  first 
message  came  to  us,  against  all  expectation,  from 
Mrs.  Eliza.  She  explained  in  clear  and  definite  terms 

that  F was  there  near  her,  but  that  he  could 

not  express  himself.  She  desired  to  recount  how 

she  had  assisted  F in  drawing  him  to  her.  She 

said  that  she  had  been  beside  his  death-bed,  had 
talked  with  him,  and  repeated  to  me  what  she  had 
said.  She  expressed  herself  in  an  unusual  manner 
and  specified  that  she  had  been  heard  and  recognized 
by  him. 

"All  this  was  confirmed  in  detail  in  the  sole  way 


THE  MOTIVE  AGENTS  123 

then  possible,  through  an  intimate  friend  of  Mrs. 
Eliza  and  myself,  and  a  friend  likewise  of  the  nearest 

living  relative  of  Mr.  F .  I  showed  the  report 

of  the  seance  to  my  friend  and  to  another  of  his 
relatives  who  had  been  near  the  death-bed. 

"A  day  or  two  afterward  the  latter  declared  spon- 
taneously that  in  his  last  hours  Mr.  F had  seen 

Eliza,  that  she  had  spoken  with  him,  and  he  re- 
peated what  she  had  said. 

"The  communication  that  this  relative  reported  to 
my  friend  was  the  same  that  I  had  received  from 
Mrs.  Eliza  during  Mrs.  Piper's  trance;  and  what 
had  occurred  at  the  bedside  of  the  dying  man  was 
entirely  unknown  to  me." 

I  will  conclude  these  illustrations,  having  no  in- 
tention to  prove  the  case,  but  simply  to  show  how, 
in  eliminating,  little  by  little,  the  insufficient  hypo- 
theses one  may  create  for  himself  a  certainty  con- 
cerning communications  from  the  other  world. 

In  a  spiritual  influx,  a  telepathic  influence,  creat- 
ing automatic  obedience  in  the  organs,  lies  the  normal 
interpretation  of  true  hallucinations  and  automa- 
tisms. To  sum  up,  experience  proves  that  psychic 
phenomena  have  their  source  in  a  new  force  which 
manifests  consciousness  in  all  degrees.  The  motive 
agents  of  a  table  that  rises  without  contact  may 
be,  turn  by  turn,  elementary  consciousness,  the  con- 
sciousness of  a  living  person,  surrounding  influences, 
actions  of  the  deceased  or  of  occult  entities,  serving 
unconsciously  as  a  mirror  to  our  psychic  powers, 
still  inadequately  studied. 

Automatic  writing  emanates  equally  from  lower 
physiology,  influenced  by  surrounding  forces  which 
are  difficult  to  define  but  which  in  certain  cases  give 


124       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

proof  of  intelligence  and  knowledge  surpassing  our 
grasp  and  which  sometimes  establish  with  great 
probability  the  identity  of  the  deceased  person  who 
claims  to  communicate  thus. 

Motive  agents  may  act  directly  upon  the  brain, 
indirectly  upon  the  sensory  organs  and  mechanic- 
ally upon  the  motor  and  sensitive  ganglion  centers. 

The  intellectual  value  of  the  phenomenon  is  in 
proportion  to  the  degree  of  consciousness  in  the 
motive  agent. 


CHAPTER  VII 

TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  AND 
MATERIALIZED  FORMS 

In  the  same  hour  came  forth  fingers  of  a  man's 

hand,    and    wrote    over    against    the    candlestick 

upon  the  plaister  of  the  wall  of  the  King's  palace; 

and  the  King  saw  the  part  of  the  hand  that  wrote. 

DAKIEL  V,  6. 

AFTER  the  inferior,  but  very  significant  phenom- 
ena of  which  we  have  hitherto  spoken,  it  is  fitting 
to  mention  apparitions. 

They  are  of  two  orders :  First,  telepathic ;  second, 
those  which  result  from  a  real  presence.  Telepathy 
calls  forth  a  visual  image,  similar  to  reality,  which 
would  be  to  the  uninitiated  equivalent  to  an  appari- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  the  phenomenon  of 
animism,  which  exteriorizes  a  portion  of  the  animistic 
substance,  would  be  falsely  called  an  hallucination. 

We  have,  therefore,  two  wholly  different  phe- 
nomena in  conjunction  with  the  telepathic  vision, 
there  are  corporeal  materializations.  We  have  seen 
that  the  London  Society  of  Psychical  Research  had 
instituted,  under  trustworthy  conditions  of  control, 
a  series  of  experimental  tests  intended  to  set  aside 
all  doubt  concerning  the  transmission  of  images 
created  by  thought.  Granting  this,  the  "sensitive" 
who  perceives  and  draws  with  exact  detail  the  pic- 
ture of  a.  small  animal  transmitted  by  an  agent,  may 
125 


126      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 


W— •$ 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  127 

be  considered  as  having  had  an  apparition  of  the 
lowest  degree. 

It  is  under  the  same  influence,  that  of  a  distant 
agent,  that  a  woman  sees  her  husband  at  the  moment 
when  he  falls  upon  the  battlefield.  Many  incidents 
of  this  nature  are  known  to  have  occurred,  and 
although  they  depend  for  credence  upon  the  testi- 
mony of  witnesses,  their  reality  is  undoubted. 

Here,  then,  a  relation  may  be  established  between 
an  apparition  and  the  experimental  transmission  of 
thought.  Apparitions  themselves  have  been  success- 
fully produced  experimentally.  Stainton  Moses  re- 
solved one  evening  to  appear  to  Z.  who  was  three 
miles  away.  He  succeeded  fully,  and  a  few  weeks 
later  renewed  the  experiment  with  the  same  success. 
(Telepathic  Hallucinations,  p.  37.)  Mr.  S.  H.  B. 
having  determined  with  all  the  power  of  his  being 
to  appear  in  a  bedroom  on  the  second  floor  where 
two  persons  of  his  acquaintance  were  sleeping,  three 
miles  away,  was  perceived  standing  near  the  bed 
of  one.  She  awakened  her  sister  who  also  saw  him. 

These  ladies,  the  Verity  sisters,  were  interviewed 
by  the  authors  of  Phantasms  of  the  Living;  they 
gave  explicit  testimony  and  Gurney  adds :  "Miss 
Verity  is  a  very  exact  and  conscientious  witness. 
She  does  not  like  the  supernatural,  but  rather  fears 
and  dislikes  it — above  all,  in  this  particular  form." 

Gurney  asked  Mr.  S.  H.  B.  to  repeat  the  experi- 
ment after  warning  her  in  advance.  This  was  done, 
and  Miss  Verity,  while  fully  awake,  saw  the  ap- 
parition distinctly  in  her  room. 

It  may  be  seen  from  this  example,  that  an  ap- 
parition is  produced  by  the  act  of  an  extraneous 
will,  that  it  is  not  always  due  to  the  illusion  of  an 


128       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

overheated  brain,  and  that  it  is  a  far  cry  to  the 
ghost  stories  which  are  used  to  discredit  apparitions. 
The  following  is  a  case  of  apparition  willed  by  a 
living  person  (Telepathic  Hallucinations,  Case  IX{ 
p.  38): 

"I  was  living  in  Scotland  with  an  aunt  who  was 
very  dear  to  me,  while  my  mother  and  sisters  were 
in  Germany.  Each  year  I  went  to  Germany  to  see 
my  family.  It  happened  that  for  two  years  I  had 
not  been  able  to  visit  them  as  had  been  my  custom. 
I  decided  suddenly  to  leave  for  Germany,  letting 
my  family  know  nothing  of  my  intention.  I  had 
never  gone  to  them  in  early  spring.  I  had  no  time 
to  inform  them  of  my  plan  by  letter,  and  I  did 
not  wish  to  send  a  telegram  for  fear  of  alarming 
my  mother.  The  idea  came  to  me  to  wish  with  all 
my  will  to  appear  to  one  of  my  sisters,  as  a  way  of 
announcing  my  arrival.  I  thought  of  them  with 
all  possible  intensity  for  a  few  moments  only.  I 
desired  with  all  my  power  to  be  seen  by  one  of  them, 
and  I  myself  experienced  a  vision  which  half-trans- 
ported me  to  my  family.  I  concentrated  my  thoughts 
for  about  ten  minutes  only,  I  think.  I  set  out  by 
steamboat  from  Leith  one  Saturday  evening  toward 
the  end  of  April,  1859,  and  it  was  about  six  o'clock 
of  that  same  evening  that  I  willed  to  appear  be- 
fore some  member  of  my  family.  I  reached  the 
house  near  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  following 
Tuesday,  and  entered  the  house  without  being  seen, 
for  the  vestibule  had  just  been  swept  and  the  entrance 
door  was  open.  I  entered  the  room  where  one  of 
my  sisters  was  standing  with  her  back  to  the  door. 
She  turned  as  she  heard  the  door  open,  stared  at 
me  fixedly,  grew  pale  and  dropped  what  she  held 
in  her  hand.  I  had  said  nothing,  but  now  spoke: 
'It  is  I.  Why  are  you  so  frightened?'  She  re- 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  129 

plied,   *I   thought   I   was    seeing   you    as    Stinchen 
(another  of  my  sisters)  saw  you  Saturday.' 

"In  answer  to  my  questions,  she  told  me  how  on 
Saturday  evening  about  six  o'clock,  my  sister  had 
distinctly  seen  me  come  through  a  door  into  her 
room,  open  another  door  into  my  mother's  room 
and  close  that  door  behind  me.  She  hurried  after 
what  she  thought  was  I,  calling  my  name.  She  was 
absolutely  shocked  when  she  did  not  see  me  with 
my  mother.  They  looked  everywhere  but  naturally 
could  not  find  me.  My  mother  was  greatly  wrought 
up  over  the  occurrence,  as  she  feared  I  must  be 
dying. 

"The  sister  who  had  seen  me  (that  is,  my  appari- 
tion) had  gone  out  the  morning  of  my  arrival.  I 
seated  myself  upon  the  steps  to  await  her  return 
and  note  the  effect  upon  her  of  seeing  my  real  self. 
When  she  raised  her  eyes  and  saw  me  on  the  stair- 
way, she  called  me  and  fainted.  My  sister  had 
seen  nothing  supernatural  before  or  since,  and  I 
have  not  renewed  these  experiments,  nor  shall  I  ever 
do  so,  for  my  sister  who  was  first  to  see  me  when 
I  really  came  to  the  house  fell  seriously  ill  as  a 
result  of  the  shock  she  had  undergone." 

J.  M.  RUSSELL. 

This  example  makes  it  clear  that  an  apparition 
has  none  of  the  characteristics  attributed  to  hal- 
lucination. They  are  two  totally  different  phe- 
nomena, one  of  them,  an  hallucination,  having  its 
source  in  the  subject,  while  the  other,  an  apparition, 
emanates  from  an  active  exterior  agent. 

When  the  person  who  appears  as  an  apparition 
does  not  act  consciously,  he  is  not  in  his  normal 
state,  but  in  a  state  of  natural  or  hypnotic  sleep, 


130      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

in  a  crisis  of  approaching  death  or  a  comatose  con- 
dition.1 

The  cases  of  spontaneous  apparitions  are  not 
less  instructive,  and  are  due  to  an  identical  cause ; 
that  is,  lacking  an  intentional  effort,  it  is  a  special 
excitation  of  the  subject  which  lends  his  psychic 
power  this  extraordinary  activity  perceived  by  a 
"sensitive"  and  felt  wherever  his  desire  leads. 

Case  200.2 — A  young  man  was  seen  upon  the 
lawn  of  his  home  in  England,  while  he  himself  was 
in  Australia.  Because  of  this  apparition  he  was 
thought  to  be  dead.  But  upon  his  return  the  young 
man  said  that  he  had  been  seriously  ill,  and  that 
during  his  delirium  had  begged  to  be  carried  out 
under  the  large  cedar  on  the  lawn.  He  had  then 
seemed  to  see  the  place  as  distinctly  as  he  now 
saw  it  upon  his  return. 

Apparitions,  like  the  phenomena  of  raps,  are 
most  often  manifested  spontaneously  around  the 
dying. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  determine,  in  each  case, 
if  the  apparition  had  preceded  or  followed  death. 
But  we  cannot  dilate  upon  this  subject;  those  who 
might  wish  to  go  deeper  should  consult  the  work 
by  Mr.  Gabriel  Delanne,  Les  Apparitions  Material- 
isees  des  vivants  et  des  morts  (Materialized  Appari- 
tions of  the  Living  and  the  Dead).  3 

Let  us  now  consider  material  apparitions.  Skep- 
tics insist  that  the  spiritists  draw  their  affirmations 

i  See  Telepathic  Hallucinations,  p.  266. 

*  Resum6  from  Phantasms  of  the  Living,  Vol.  I,  p.  540. 

» This  documentation  is  both  enlightening  and  abundant. 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  131 

from  nothingness,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  all  the 
scholars  of  the  Century  have  been  challenged  to 
take  account  of  the  matter  for  themselves.  The  in- 
credulous do  not  like  to  hear  of  the  documents 
gathered  by  the  Dialectic  Society  of  London,  by 
Sir  William  Crookes,  Professor  Charles  Richet, 
Lombroso,  Morselli  and  others.  But  according  to 
these  witnesses  fragmentary  materialization  is  no 
longer  contestable. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  to-day  that  the  existence 
at  least  of  materialized  fluidic  members  has  been 
verified  experimentally,  whether  the  psychic  body 
really  represents  the  mold  upon  which  gather  the 
particles  of  matter  that  cause  its  visibility,  or 
whether  this  exteriorization  of  suggestible  and  mal- 
leable substance  indeed  espouses  the  forms  of 
thought.  A  beginning  of  materialization  would  be 
a  possible  explanation  of  raps  and  table  lifting. 

This  conviction  was  some  time  ago  reached  by 
Dr.  Ochorowicz,  a  learned  physician,  whose  report 
published  as  early  as  1895  gives  the  following  con- 
clusion : 

The  hypothesis  of  a  fluidic  double  (astral  body) 
which,  under  certain  conditions,  is  detached  from  the 
body  of  the  medium,  seems  necessary  for  an  explana- 
tion of  the  majority  of  phenomena.  According  to 
this  theory,  the  movement  of  objects  without  con- 
tact would  be  produced  by  the  fluidic  members  of 
the  medium.1 

It  was  evident  in  the  case  of  the  medium  Eusapia 
Paladino  that  her  muscular  activity  and  contrac- 

1  Conclusions  of  Dr.  Ochorowicz  after  the  stances  of  War- 
saw, in  The  Outward  Manifestation  of  Motivity  by  Albert  de 
Rochas. 


132       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

tions  were  in  correlation  with  the  gestures  of  the 
fiuidic  member.  Well-controlled  experiments  have 
proved  that  the  fluidic  organ  is  often  manifested 
in  visible  form  as  hands,  feet  or  heads. 

Proof  of  this  is  set  forth  in  the  testimony: 

William  Crookes.1 — I  shall  merely  choose  a  few 
of  the  many  instances  in  which  I  have  seen  the 
hands  of  the  fluidic  organ  in  full  light.  A  small 
beautiful  hand  rose  from  a  dining-room  table  and 
offered  me  a  flower.  It  thrice  appeared  and  dis- 
appeared giving  me  every  opportunity  to  convince 
myself  that  the  apparition  was  as  real  as  my  own 
hand.  This  manifestation  occurred  in  the  light, 
in  my  own  room,  while  I  was  holding  the  hands 
and  feet  of  the  medium. 

More  than  once  I  have  seen  an  object  begin  to 
move,  then  a  luminous  mist  forming  round  about  it, 
which  condensing,  took  shape  and  changed  into  a 
perfectly  modeled  hand.  All  those  present  saw  the 
hand  at  that  moment.  This  hand  is  not  always 
merely  a  hand;  sometimes  it  is  animated  and  very 
graceful,  with  moving  fingers  and  the  flesh  ap- 
parently as  human  as  that  of  any  of  the  spectators. 
At  wrist  or  arm,  the  hand  grows  vaporous,  vanish- 
ing into  a  luminous  mist. 

I  have  held  one  of  these  hands  in  mine  with  a 
determination  not  to  let  it  go.  No  attempt  or 
effort  was  made  to  escape  my  hold,  but  little  by 
little  the  hand  seemed  to  dissolve  into  vapor,  and  in 
this  way  slipped  from  my  grasp. 

Examples  of  this  sort  of  materialization  are 
numerous,  and  I  wish  to  give  the  testimony  of  Ch. 
Richet. 

*W.  Crookes,  New  Experiments  upon  Psychic  Force,  1897. 
Resume,  p.  161. 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  133 

With  this  physiologist  the  proofs  are  somewhat 
more  diffuse,  for  he  analyzes  endlessly.  He  wishes 
to  foresee  every  obstacle  and,  as  he  declares,  to  be 
twenty  times  sure. 

The  control,  more  than  the  phenomenon  itself, 
absorbs  his  attention;  such  careful  precautions  are 
taken  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  add  more. 
Richet  would  not  be  sure  of  having  securely  held  a 
hand,  if  at  the  interesting  moment,  his  attention  had 
not  been  as  concentrated  upon  this  hand  as  upon 
the  phenomenon. 

But  it  is  preferable  to  quote  Richet: 

"It  is  clear  that  when  I  say  a  very  distinct  hand, 
I  presuppose  that  all  possible  chicanery  has  been 
considered.  A  vague  contact  is  not  a  hand;  the 
sensation  of  a  stump  or  palm  is  not  enough.  By  a 
very  distinct  hand  I  mean  a  hand  that  is  perfectly 
formed,  the  fingers  of  which  may  be  felt,  a  hand 
which  is  capable  of  pinching  the  arm,  pulling  the 
hair  or  beard,  in  a  word,  of  giving  such  sensations 
as  only  a  hand  may  give.  This  is  living,  animated, 
absolutely  identical  with  a  human  hand.  /  have 
made  this  experiment;  and,  besides  successful  ex- 
periments in  Rome,  I  succeeded  four  times  on  the 
Island  of  Roubaud.  Upon  one  occasion,  I  held  in 
one  of  my  hands  both  of  Eusapia's  and  raised  my 
other  hand  very  high  in  the  air.  The  hand  which 
appeared  to  us  caught  two  of  my  fingers,  pulled  at 
them  strongly  and  after  having  pulled  them,  tapped 
sufficiently  loudly  upon  the  back  of  my  hand  for 
everyone  to  hear."1 

"However,"  continues  Richet,  "I  am  not  the  only 
one  who  has  thus  been  touched  by  a  distinct  hand, 
while  holding  both  Eusapia's  hands." 

i  L'Exttriorization  de  la  Motricitt,  pp.  188-188. 


134       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

"On  July  9th,  Ochorowicz  was  touched  on  the 
back  by  a  very  distinct  hand  while  he  held  Eusapia's 
two  hands." 

"On  July  21st,  Lodge,  holding  both  of  Eusapia's 
hands,  was  distinctly  touched  upon  the  shoulder." 

"On  July  26th,  while  holding  both  hands  of  the 
Medium,  1  felt  a  large  hand  stroking  my  head." 

All  these  quotations  are  connected  with  a  series 
of  experiments  carried  on  at  Carqueranne,  and  the 
Island  of  Roubaud  by  Charles  Richet,  who  devoted 
his  vacation  in  1894  to  this  problem.  Those  present 
were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver 
Lodge,  Mr.  J.  Ochorowicz,  Mr.  Frederick  Myers, 
Baron  de  Schrenk  (Notzing  of  Munich)  and  Dr. 
Segard,  Chief  Surgeon  of  the  French  Navy. 

The  evidence  of  Charles  Richet  concludes  thus: 

"That  which  makes  an  experiment  of  this  kind 
instructive,  and  to  my  mind  absolutely  decisive,  is 
that  we  must  admit  either  a  tactile  hallucination, 
which  seems  to  be  absurd,  or  a  practical  joke  on  the 
part  of  one  of  the  audience,  which  is  inconceivable. 
Or  else  we  must  concede  it  to  have  been — and  this 
is  the  conclusion  I  have  reached — something  like 
the  materialization  of  a  living  hand.  This  conclu- 
sion I  accept  in  despair  of  a  cause,  and  I  resign 
myself  to  it  with  deep  reluctance." 

Why  this  reluctance? 

It  is  because  Mr.  Richet  declared  in  the  beginning 
that  to  him  these  facts  were  absurd? 

Surely,  these  facts  are  not  absurd;  they  prove 
once  more  that  we  have  a  fluidic  body,  dependent 
both  upon  mind  and  matter.  These  experiments  are 
instructive  and  offer  a  basis  for  the  study  of  ani- 
mistic physiology. 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  135 

,» 

There  is  a  time  for  all  things.  To-day  there  is 
not  a  man,  however  unacquainted  with  the  facts  he 
may  be,  who  can  deny  the  formation  of  members, 
materialized  outside  the  organs  of  the  medium. 

Scholars  have  seen  the  results  we  obtained  with 
patient  effort.  But  once  having  seen,  we  must  prove 
by  experiment.  There  has  been  no  failure  here. 
We  said  to  ourselves,  since  these  hands  which  have 
been  visible  to  the  most  skeptical,  have  an  appear- 
ance of  objectivity,  we  can  perhaps  preserve  proofs 
of  this  objectivity  by  securing  prints  of  them,  photo- 
graphs or  molds.  Just  such  evidences  have  been 
secured. 

But  this  is  a  work  which  can  be  effected  only 
after  a  long  preparation.  Observation  requires 
endless  patience,  for  the  phenomenon  does  not  de- 
velop at  the  first  stroke;  there  are  three  factors  in 
its  production — the  medium,  the  audience,  and  the 
occult  force.  Their  cooperation  cannot  be  secured 
save  after  long  sittings  held  intimately  in  the  course 
of  which  the  forces  have  become  tractable. 

Newcomers,  who  ask  to  be  invited  to  the  first 
sitting,  will  not  obtain  the  great  experimental  proofs 
in  less  time  than  was  necessary  for  William  Crookes, 
Charles  Richet,  and  Lombroso  to  attain  a  convic- 
tion. The  moral  and  scientific  value  of  the  experi- 
menters is  the  sole  guarantee  of  the  value  of  the 
experiments.  The  materialization  of  a  hand  is  not 
a  mechanical  function  and  only  those  who  are  in 
the  good  graces  of  the  medium  and  (let  us  not  fear 
to  state  it)  of  the  occult  force,  will  obtain  permis- 
sion to  grasp  this  hand  and  to  use  the  devices  for 
control. 

It  seemed  at  first  that  the  most  delicate  control 


136       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

to  propose,  in  view  of  manifestations  so  fleeting, 
would  be  to  secure  the  imprint  of  the  hand  in  flour 
or  smoke-black.  This  testimony,  added  to  that  of 
sight  and  touch,  would  refute  the  hypothesis,  for- 
merly advanced,  of  hallucination  on  the  part  of  the 
audience. 

Zoellner  tried  this  experiment  with  the  medium 
Slade,  when  the  latter  came  to  Leipsig  in  1877.1 

An  attempt  to  secure  foot-prints  succeeded  with- 
out contact  of  Slade,  although  the  medium  had  pre- 
dicted that  this  would  be  impossible.  Zoellner  placed 
sheets  of  paper,  prepared  with  lamp-black  inside 
a  folding  slate  and  placed  the  slate  upon  his  knees 
in  order  to  keep  it  in  view.  Five  minutes  later,  in 
a  well-lighted  room,  all  hands  resting  upon  the 
table,  Zoellner  remarked  that  he  had  twice  felt  a 
pressure  upon  the  slate  lying  on  his  knees.  Three 
raps  upon  the  table  having  announced  that  all  was 
over,  the  slate  was  opened  and  two  imprints,  one 
of  the  right  foot,  the  other  of  the  left,  were  found 
upon  the  paper. 

"My  readers  may  judge,"  said  Zoellner,  "that  it 
is  impossible  for  me,  after  having  witnessed  these 
facts,  to  consider  Slade  an  impostor  or  a  prestidigi- 
tator." 2 

The  first  idea  of  molding  the  materialized  forms 
belonged  to  Mr.  Denton,  professor  of  Geology,  well 
known  in  America,  who  died  in  1883.  His  medium 
was  Mrs.  Hardy.  All  this  chapter  of  Aksakof  (pp. 
127-172)  should  be  studied  in  full,  as  it  contains 
a  complete  history  of  the  question. 

1  Eugene    Nus.    Things   of   the    Other    World    (Choses    de 
L'autre  Monde),  p.  836. 

2  Ib.  p.  838. 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  137 

But  history  continues,  or  rather  recommences ;  all 
modern  scholars  have  been  able  to  obtain  some  of 
these  molds  which  furnish  positive  and  conclusive 
proofs  of  the  phenomenon  of  materialization. 

In  1889,  the  Spanish  Doctor,  Manuel  Otero 
Acevedo,  armored  with  incredulity,  came  to  Naples 
expressly  to  examine  Eusapia.  He  demanded  an 
imprint  in  clay.  The  report  of  this  case  is  found 
in  the  work  of  Dr.  de  Rochas.1 

While  in  full  light  the  table  replied  by  raps  and 
Eusapia  suddenly  inspired,  said  to  Otero:  "Take 
this  vessel  full  of  clay,  put  it  opposite  me  on  this 
chair,  and  indicate  the  spot  where  you  wish  the 
phenomenon  to  appear."  The  clay  was  placed  about 
two  yards  from  her  and  carefully  examined  by  Dr. 
Otero,  who  covered  it  with  his  white  handkerchief 
and  indicated  the  spot.  We  all  watched  Eusapia. 
She  thrust  out  her  right  arm  convulsively,  turned 
her  hand  in  the  direction  of  the  clay  and,  extending 
three  fingers,  made  an  indefinable  movement  with 
them  and  said:  "It  is  done." 

Raising  the  handkerchief,  we  found  the  imprint 
of  three  fingers  at  the  precise  point  indicated  by 
Otero. 

At  this  evident,  palpable,  overwhelming  proof  of 
a  supernatural  power,  of  an  invisible,  fluidic  force, 
emanating  from  this  woman,  issuing  from  all  her 
pores  and  from  her  magician  fingers,  but  submissive 
to  a  will  foreign  to  humanity,  Professor  Otero,  Mr. 
Lassi  and  the  engineer  Agri,  stared  at  one  another 
in  stupefaction.  They  respectfully  thanked  the  in- 
visible John  who  replied  instantly  by  greeting  them 

i  De  Rochas:  Outward  Manifestation  of  Motivity,  p.  12.  Com- 
munication of  Chiaia. 


138       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

with  four  heavy  raps  upon  the  table  in  the  middle 
of  the  room. 

Thus  the  seance  closed. 

Another  skeptic,  Dr.  Vizani  Scozzi,  of  Florence, 
obtained  a  similar  impress. 

Chevalier  Chiaia  secured  a  whole  series  of  imprints 
in  modeling  clay.  In  the  work  of  de  Rochas, 
numerous  specimens  are  found.  Ochorowicz,  himself, 
obtained  a  proof  under  conditions  in  which  veri- 
fication was  certain. 

Finally,  as  one  cannot  too  often  multiply  testi- 
mony, we  shall  also  cite  the  seances  of  Montfort 
PAmaury,  the  records  of  which  are  found  in  the 
work  of  G.  de  Fontenay.1 

I  shall  not  concern  myself  here  with  the  detractors 
who  claim  that  the  operation  is  no  more  difficult 
than  the  making  of  an  omelette  in  a  hat.  Since 
the  completeness  of  the  control  could  not  be  under- 
stood by  their  feeble  brains,  they  would  never  com- 
prehend that  the  magician  could  not  succeed  with 
his  omelette  under  the  same  conditions  of  absolute 
surveillance. 

But  one  might  suppose  that  the  medium  had 
stretched  out  her  hand  and  placed  her  head  in  con- 
tact with  the  clay  prepared  for  the  purpose.  This 
supposition,  which  seems  natural  to  one  who  has  not 
considered  the  conditions  required  for  securing  a 
mold,  is  not  in  the  least  probable. 

Considerable  pressure  is  required  for  the  penetra- 
tion of  a  form,  whether  the  prepared  substance  be 
putty  or  potter's  clay,  and  flesh  is  not  able  to  bear 

iG.  de  Fontenay:  A  Propos  d'Eusapia  Paladino.  (Soci6t6 
d'6ditions  Scientifiques,  Paris,  1898)  and  at  the  close  of  which 
a  magnificent  imprint  was  made  upon  glazier's  cement. 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  139 

this  without  deformation.  A  face  pressed  into  putty 
would  show  flattened  lips,  a  twisted  or  foreshortened 
nose.  A  cast  can  be  obtained  only  by  the  process  of 
the  molder. 

The  experiment  with  the  hands  is  easy  to  make; 
in  thrusting  the  fist  into  clay  there  was  no  such 
result  as  that  obtained  with  Eusapia.  I,  myself, 
secured  through  her,  the  cast  of  a  closed  fist,  and 
a  clever  molder  on  the  rue  Racine  said  he  could 
not  understand  how  this  imprint  could  have  been 
made. 

In  accomplishing  this  it  was  necessary  for  the 
fluidic  member,  after  a  maximum  of  effort,  to  de- 
tach itself  from  the  mold  by  dissolving  in  order  to 
escape  without  deranging  the  substance.  It  is  for 
this  reason,  also,  that  the  paraffine  mold  was  in- 
vented, which,  in  the  form  of  a  fragile  glove,  makes 
it  possible  to  obtain  a  unique  cast,  defying  imita- 
tion. 

Aksakoff  published  the  conclusive  report  of  a 
sculptor,  charged  with  valuation  of  these  objects, 
and  the  same  appraisement  was  made  with  Eusapia. 
The  eminent  sculptor,  Giuseppe  Ronda,  having  lent 
his  aid  to  Chevalier  Chiaia,  was  convinced  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  obtain  such  specimens  by  the 
direct  process  and  became  a  confirmed  spiritualist. 

The  operation,  even  in  potter's  earth,  is  not  as 
simple  as  the  layman  might  believe.  A  form  is 
not  drawn  in  this  clay  as  a  moist  stamp  is  printed 
upon  paper.  This  has  been  confirmed  by  de  Rochas, 
who,  following  his  report  upon  the  seances  of  Naples 
in  1895,  wrote:  "In  order  to  silence  the  doubts 
which  arose  in  his  mind,  the  author  wished  to  ask 
counsel  of  persons  who  afforded  the  best  guarantees 


140      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

of  ability.  An  eminent  young  artist,  Mr.  George 
Kiewerk,  a  painter  and  sculptor  of  Florence,  made  a 
series  of  futile  experiments  in  his  studio,  to  repro- 
duce these  imprints  in  potter's  clay." 

An  experiment  made  by  Crookes  tends  to  demon- 
strate that  the  fluidic  organ  is  not  always  similar  to 
that  of  the  medium,  but  that  the  hand  thus  formed 
may  borrow  its  momentary  substance  from  other 
parts  of  the  body. 

Crookes  placed  a  small  quantity  of  aniline  dye 
upon  the  surface  of  the  mercury  prepared  for  the 
experiment.  Aniline  is  a  powerful  dye  and  Crookes' 
hands  bore  traces  of  it  for  a  long  time.  Katie  King 
plunged  her  fingers  into  the  color,  yet  the  fingers  of 
the  medium  were  found  unstained.  Traces  of  the 
aniline  were  found,  however,  upon  her  arm. 

These  experiments  have  never,  I  believe,  occurred 
in  a  good  light,  as  obscurity  seems  indispensable  to 
the  firm  concretion  of  fluidic  members. 

But  we  must  not  forget  that,  in  default  of  direct 
observation,  it  has  been  possible  to  bring  into  light 
and  watch  effectively  the  hands  or  feet  of  the 
medium,  so  as  to  give  assurance  that  the  imprint  was 
indeed  obtained  without  fraudulent  intervention. 

More  recently  experimenters  have  contrived  ex- 
traordinary devices  and  preparations  for  control- 
ling experiments.  These  have  not  prevented  the 
phenomena,  but  have  given  rise  to  the  conviction 
that  nothing  equals  the  value  of  direct  observation. 

We  read  in  the  Annals  of  Psychical  Science  for 
1907,  an  account  by  Mr.  Barzini,  an  Italian  journal- 
ist, Editor  of  Corriere  delta  serra,  who,  at  different 
times  seized  the  mysterious  hands  that  touched 
him.  He  wrote  (p.  154)  : 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  141 

"The  impression  I  received  was  very  strange. 
Those  hands  did  not  escape,  they  dissolved,  as  it 
were.  I  missed  them  in  my  hands  as  though  they 
had  collapsed.  One  might  have  called  them  hands 
which  grew  soft,  and  melted  away  very  rapidly  after 
having  attained  the  highest  degree  of  energy  and 
an  absolutely  life-like  appearance  at  the  moment 
of  action." 

Farther  on,  he  wrote: 

"A  mandolin  which  had  been  placed  upon  a  bed 
in  the  cabinet  after  having  produced  sounds  at  a 
distance,  moved  to  the  table  where,  in  complete  isola- 
tion, it  began  to  play.  It  was  entirely  visible  to 
all  the  audience? 

"We  touched  all  around  to  assure  ourselves  of 
the  isolation  of  the  mandolin.  Eusapia  was  held 
by  her  hands,  one  of  which  rested  upon  the  edge 
of  the  table,  the  other  upon  her  knee,  and  the 
mandolin  continued  to  play.  Of  course  there  was 
no  melody,  but  the  chords  vibrated  strongly.  The 
experimenters  placed  their  hands  a  few  feet  above 
the  strings  and  felt  them  vibrate  more  than  ever. 
Prof.  Morselli  seized  the  neck  of  the  mandolin  with 
his  left  hand  and  the  instrument  quietly  continued 
its  intermittent  arpeggios,  taking  them  up  each  time 
as  the  experimenters  desired.  But  each  sound  cor- 
responded exactly  to  a  movement  of  the  medium's 
fingers  which,  at  a  distance,  made  the  motions  of 
playing,  and  finally  picked  out  the  last  notes  upon 
the  forehead  of  Prof.  Morselli. 

i  We  underline  this  because  all  experimentors  who  put 
patience  and  perseverance  into  their  work,  finally  obtain 
phenomena  in  a  good  light,  whereas  the  detractors  always 
claim  that  these  performances  take  place  in  darkness.  This, 
parrot  like,  they  assert  repeatedly,  despite  everything. 


142      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

"It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  mandolin  did  not 
belong  to  Eusapia,  but  was  purchased  by  the  ex- 
perimenters, 'and,'  said  Mr.  Barzini,  'it  was  a  simple 
instrument  incapable  of  fraud.'  " 

Again  in  the  Annals  of  Psychical  Science,  we 
read  (March  number,  1907,  p.  212),  the  account 
of  a  seance  held  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Lom- 
broso.  Signer  Mucchi,  collaborator  of  la  Stampa, 
speaks  at  length  of  the  precautions  taken  to  pre- 
vent all  chicanery.  "Moreover,"  he  adds,  "none  of 
the  most  important  phenomena  produced  could  give 
rise  to  the  least  suspicion  of  trickery.  They  are 
all  of  such  nature  that  one  could  not  imitate  them 
even  by  the  most  skillful  sleight-of-hand." 

.  .  .  "One  of  the  spectators  was  asked  to  take  a 
mandolin  that  was  in  the  room  and  to  place  it  upon 
a  table  upon  which  there  was  no  clay.  This  gentle- 
man encountered,  in  his  turn,  mysterious  hands  which 
would  and  would  not  permit  him  to  enter.  Once 
he  had  seized  the  mandolin,  he  feared  to  see  it 
snatched  away  and  placed  it  quickly  upon  the  inner 
table  with  the  strings  turned  down. 

"The  mandolin  was  at  once  inexplicably  raised  and 
carried  to  the  experimental  table,  where  in  full  sight 
of  all  present,  it  played  of  itself;  at  first  one  string 
at  a  time,  with  a  clear  sound  as  though  produced 
by  the  pick  of  a  nail,  then  with  all  the  strings  as 
if  a  finger  swept  over  them.  One  of  us  was  asked 
to  play  the  mandolin  upon  the  fingers  of  Eusapia; 
the  sound  of  the  string  corresponded  to  each  touch, 
and  if  the  gesture  were  badly  made,  the  resultant 
sound  was  incomplete  and  strident. 

"Finally,    a    hand    which    suddenly    materialized 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  143 

seized  the  instrument  by  the  neck  and  placed  it 
upon  the  shoulder  of  the  player,  and  there,  close 
to  his  face,  the  strings  vibrated  and  strummed, 
while  the  hand  dissolved  and  disappeared  once  more." 

Annals,  July,  1907.     Report  of  Dr.  J.  Venzano: 

"I,  myself,  seized  a  hand  during  a  seance  at  the 
home  of  Signer  Avellino,  in  the  month  of  June, 
1901.  It  was  a  rather  large  hand  of  a  masculine 
type.  I  grasped  it  firmly  with  the  intention  of 
holding  it  as  long  as  possible.  After  a  while,  al- 
though I  had  increased  the  force  of  my  grip,  the 
hand  slipped  freely  from  mine  in  an  instant,  as  if 
it  had  suddenly  diminished  in  size." 

We  feel  that  the  materialization  of  hands  is  now 
a  proven  fact. 

Must  we  still  answer  objections? 

I  do  not  think  it  necessary,  because  the  objec- 
tions are  inexhaustible,  and  their  authors  betray 
in  their  evident  prejudice  an  absolute  ignorance  of 
the  conditions  controlling  experiments.  The  rec- 
ords of  experimenters  have  already  met  all  of  these 
objections. 

Moreover,  how  can  we  reply  to  detractors  who 
ever  repeat,  parrot-fashion,  the  same  thing,  answer- 
ing not  at  all  the  very  simple  statements  urged 
upon  them,  such  as  that  made  by  William  Crookes 
as  many  as  forty  years  ago. 

"I  can  only  indicate  here  a  few  of  the  more 
striking  facts,  all  of  which,  it  would  be  well  to 
remember,  took  place  under  conditions  in  which  all 
deception  was  made  impossible.  It  is  absurd  to 
attribute  these  results  to  trickery,  for  I  will  recall 


144      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD^ 

to  my  readers  that  what  I  here  report  did  not  occur 
in  the  home  of  a  medium,  but  in  my  own  house 
where  it  was  quite  impossible  to  prepare  in  advance 
for  fraud  of  any  kind.  A  medium  walking  about 
my  dining-room,  where  I  was  seated  with  several 
other  persons  who  watched  her  closely,  could  not 
fraudulently  play  an  accordion  that  I  held  in  my 
own  hands  with  the  keys  down,  or  cause  it  to  float 
about  the  room  playing.  She  could  not  bring  with 
her  devices  to  stir  the  window  curtains  or  raise  the 
Venetian  blinds  eight  feet;  to  tie  a  knot  in  a  hand- 
kerchief and  place  it  in  a  distant  corner  of  the 
room;  to  sound  the  keys  of  a  piano  at  a  distance; 
to  cause  a  card  case  to  fly  about  the  apartment; 
to  raise  a  carafe  and  a  goblet  above  the  table;  to 
make  a  coral  necklace  rise  upon  one  end;  to  open 
a  fan  and  fan  the  company,  or  to  set  in  motion  a 
pendulum  enclosed  in  a  glass  case,  solidly  sealed  to 
the  wall."1 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  this  testimony  with 
the  present-day  words  of  Professor  Morselli,  spoken 
forty  years  later. 

"Mr.  Barzini  and  I  have  not  found  it  difficult 
to  hold  and  watch  the  hands  of  this  woman:  after 
a  little  practice,  we  succeeded  in  holding  securely 
her  four  extremities.  At  the  same  time  we  watched 
her  head  (almost  always  visible)  and  paid  attention 
to  the  phenomena.  Not  every  one  is  able  to  ac- 
complish this  many-sided  muscular  tactile,  and  in- 
tellectual labor.  But  I  am  sure  that  each  time 
I  was  charged  with  surveillance,  Eusapia  did  not 
attempt,  aside  from  one  or  two  simple  efforts,  the 
famous  trick  of  substitution  of  the  hand  (which, 

i  Researches  upon  the  Phenomena  of  Spiritualism,  William 
Crookes. 


TELEPATHIC  APPARITIONS  145 

moreover,  does  not  explain  the  twentieth  part  of 
the  Paladinian  phenomena)  ;  also  she  could  not  have 
stroked  my  brow,  pulled  my  mustache,  or  played 
upon  a  trumpet  by  using  her  feet,  as  some  critics 
have  foolishly  imagined! 

"As  for  the  rest  the  control  used  in  spiritual 
seances  is  sometimes  rather  ridiculous:  it  wearies 
those  who  must  exercise  it  and  certainly  prevents 
Eusapia  from  giving  the  new  and  spontaneous  mani- 
festations which  might  be  very  remarkable  through 
her  mediumship.  I  would  prefer  to  have  the  medium 
free  for  the  most  extraordinary  phenomena  of  mate- 
rialization. I  have  had  astounding  results  when 
Eusapia  was  bound  upon  a  small  bed,  but  who 
knows  what  energy  she  might  manifest  if  she  were 
left  to  the  automatism  of  her  subconscious  self?  All 
modification  of  habitual  technique  may  be  a  check 
upon  fraud,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  also  a  hindrance  and 
sometimes  a  complete  preventive  of  mediumistic 
phenomena." 

I  believe  that  we  have  now  established  as  a  fact 
the  reality  of  materialized  forms,  and  shall  deal  in 
the  following  chapter  with  the  phenomena  of  com- 
plete materializations. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
COMPLETE   MATERIALIZATIONS 

The  greatest  hallucination  is  to  believe  that  one 
knows  all  the  laws  of  nature. 

EUGENE  Nus. 

LET  us  now  consider  the  reports  of  certain  experi- 
menters concerning  the  production  of  compete  ma- 
terialization in  controlled  seances.  We  have  just 
read  Professor  Morselli's  affirmation  of  having  seen 
these  great  phenomena  when  Eusapia  was  bound 
upon  a  couch.  As  his  testimony  is  particularly  valu- 
able we  sought  the  report  of  one  of  these  seances 
to  which  he  alludes,  and  found  it  in  the  former 
Revue  des  Etudes  Psychiques  (Review  of  Psychical 
Studies,  Sept.,  1902),  Edited  at  that  time  by  Mr. 
C.  de  Vesine.  That  was  the  hey-day  of  the  medium- 
ship  of  Eusapia  Paladino,  whose  power  has  since 
declined. 

Seance  of  Eusapia  at  Genoa,  m  1902.  Abridged 
account  by  Dr.  J.  Venzano,  of  Genoa. 

"A  small  rectangular  table  of  white  wood  was 
placed  about  twenty  centimeters  from  the  cabinet; 
about  a  meter  from  it  was  arranged  a  double  row 
of  chairs.  A  piano  was  set  diagonally  in  a  corner 
of  the  room  which  was  brilliantly  lighted  by  a  gas 
chandelier,  equipped  with  Auer  burners. 
146 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       147 

"Before  beginning  the  seance  Madame  Paladino, 
the  medium,  was  rigorously  examined.  In  our 
presence  some  of  her  clothing  was  removed,  but  the 
more  detailed  inspection  was  conducted  by  Mmes. 
Avellino  and  Montaldo  in  another  room  where  the 
medium  undressed  completely. 

"The  medium  then  re-clothed  herself  in  the  presence 
of  the  two  ladies,  who  did  not  leave  her  for  an  in- 
stant and  accompanied  her  directly  to  the  experi- 
mental room. 

"The  seance  began  at  half-past  ten  o'clock. 
Madame  Paladino  seated  herself  at  one  end  of  the 
table,  at  her  right  Prof.  Morselli,  at  her  left,  Boz- 
zano ;  each  laid  a  hand  and  foot  upon  one  hand  and 
one  foot  of  the  medium. 

"Almost  at  once  the  table  was  set  in  motion.  The 
medium  invited  Dr.  Morselli  to  place  his  free  hand 
and  arm  upon  her  knees,  in  order  to  be  assured  of 
their  immobility.  The  table  rose  more  than  forty 
centimeters,  remaining  suspended  in  air  for  almost 
a  minute. 

"Note  that  during  the  levitation,  the  hands  of  the 
spectators  were  all  raised;  only  the  right  hand  of 
the  medium,  joined  to  Morselli's  left,  barely  touched 
the  surface  of  the  table,  while  her  left  hand,  free, 
was  also  lifted. 

"Shortly  afterward  there  was  a  second  levitation 
of  the  same  duration.  Almost  immediately  Eusapia 
rose,  lifted  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet  and  lay  on 
her  back  upon  the  bed,  to  the  bars  of  which  Prof. 
Morselli  and  Signer  Avellino  fastened  her  firmly. 
They  attached  her  wrists  to  the  iron  bars  at  the 
sides  by  means  of  a  cord  with  many  knots;  they 
then  passed  the  cord  twice  around  the  waist  of  the 


148    .  PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

medium,  securely  knotting  the  ends  of  the  rope  to 
the  bars.  They  lowered  the  light,  but  so  little  that 
one  could  still  read,  as  Prof.  Morselli  remarked,  the 
smallest  print  on  a  paper. 

"After  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  the  table,  which 
stood  a  meter  from  us  and  twenty  centimeters  from 
the  cabinet,  began  to  move  by  itself.  At  first,  it 
rose  upon  two  feet,  giving  several  raps. 

"Sometime  later  the  curtains  stirred,  as  though 
they  had  been  parted  by  two  hands,  and  a  large 
opening  formed  in  the  upper  part,  in  which  we  could 
all  observe  the  face  of  a  young  woman,  whose  head 
and  that  part  of  her  body  which  was  visible  were 
surrounded  by  pure  white  drapery.  The  head  seemed 
enveloped  by  several  circular  bands  of  this  material, 
which  left  visible  only  a  small  oval  portion  of  the 
face,  a  sufficient  portion,  however,  for  one  to  see 
exactly  the  eyes,  nose,  mouth  and  upper  part  of  the 
chin. 

"The  apparition  remained  visible  to  everyone  for 
almost  a  minute.  As  Mr.  Bozzano  was  pointing 
out  that  we  saw  only  a  part  of  the  face,  we  noticed 
the  finger-tips  of  two  hands  draw  aside  the  drapery, 
thus  displaying  her  form  more  clearly  and  com- 
pletely. Before  disappearing,  the  figure  bent  her 
head  in  salutation,  and  threw  us  a  kiss,  the  sound 
of  which  was  distinctly  heard  by  everyone. 

"After  a  few  moments  of  rest,  the  table  began 
again  its  automatic  movements.  Then  the  curtains 
parted  once  more,  as  though  they  had  been  opened 
from  within  by  two  hands,  leaving  an  ample  space 
in  which  was  seen  the  figure  of  a  man  with  large 
head  and  strong  shoulders,  surrounded  also  by  white 
drapery.  The  head  was  enveloped  in  such  a  manner 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       149 

that  through  the  light  fabric  one  could  see  the  pink 
color  of  the  face,  the  outlines  of  the  nose,  cheek- 
bones, and  chin.  Bozzano  and  Morselli  declared 
they  had  noticed,  also,  a  heavy  beard  upon  the  chin. 
This  man's  face  remained  visible  for  a  minute,  at 
least. 

"It  leaned  toward  us  several  times,  and  before 
withdrawing,  sent  us  several  loud  kisses,  accompanied 
by  expressive  movements  of  the  head. 

"When  the  curtains  were  drawn  again  we  heard 
hands  clapping  inside  the  cabinet. 

"At  this  moment,  we  also  heard  Eusapia's  voice, 
calling  Professor  Morselli  in  a  plaintive  tone.  He 
went  into  the  cabinet  and  found  her  in  the  same 
position  in  which  she  had  been  fastened.  The  medium 
in  a  trance,  with  evident  signs  of  suffering,  was  com- 
plaining that  her  wrists  were  painfully  bound.  The 
professor  finally  loosened  her  wrists  with  much  diffi- 
culty, because  of  the  many  complicated  knots.  Mme. 
Paladino  then  remained  fastened  only  by  feet  and 
waist. 

"Signer  Bozzano  noticed  that  the  professor,  being 
seated  directly  beneath  the  chandelier,  was  obliged, 
when  watching  the  medium,  to  shade  his  eyes  from 
the  light  coming  from  above.  He  asked  Signer  Avel- 
lino,  therefore,  kindly  to  give  his  place  to  the  pro- 
fessor. This  was  done,  so  that  Dr.  Morselli  occupied 
the  chair  of  Mr.  Avellino. 

"When  everyone  was  in  his  place,  it  was  observed 
almost  immediately,  that  the  piano  lid  rose  and  fell 
automatically,  causing  a  certain  sound. 

"Almost  at  the  same  time,  we  became  aware  of  the 
figure  of  a  young  woman  in  front  of  the  curtain  at 
the  rig;ht,  resembling  somewhat  the  one  of  whom  we 


150      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

have  spoken  above.  The  apparition  nodded  her  head 
several  times,  bowing,  as  though  in  greeting  to  us. 
Finally  she  vanished.  Oh  this  occasion,  we  were  all 
struck  by  a  new  fact,  rather  important  for  those 
readers  who  will  not  hesitate  to  accuse  us  of 
hallucination. 

"We  noticed  that  the  figure  in  question,  while  lean- 
ing forward  in  such  a  way  as  to  remain  a  certain 
distance  from  the  wall,  illumined  by  the  gas  light, 
threw  her  shadow  upon  the  wall,  a  shadow  that 
followed  all  the  movements  of  this  body  which  was 
evidently  materialized. 

"In  the  following  interval,  Professor  Morselli,  re- 
quested by  Eusapia,  whose  weak  and  plaintive  voice 
reached  us  from  within  the  cabinet,  drew  his  chair 
close  to  the  piano. 

"A  few  moments  after,  a  new  figure  of  a  woman 
appeared  from  the  same  side  of  the  mediumistic 
cabinet  as  that  from  which  we  had  seen  the  preced- 
ing figure  come.  However,  if  this  new  apparition 
bore  some  analogy  to  the  other,  there  were,  never- 
theless, some  points  of  difference.  The  white  bands 
were  wrapped  about  her  head  an  extraordinary 
number  of  times;  the  outer  edges  projecting  so  far 
that  the  face  seemed  sunk  in  their  depths.  The 
trunk  of  the  materialized  form  was  swathed  in  as 
many  folds,  giving  the  impression  of  an  Egyptian 
mummy.  This  materialized  form  was  so  near  us 
that  we  were  even  enabled  to  conjecture  with  a  cer- 
tain exactitude  concerning  the  nature  of  the  fabric. 
It  seemed  rather  heavier  than  ordinary  gauze  and 
perhaps  not  as  thick  as  muslin.  The  figure  leaned 
forward,  resting  her  elbow  upon  the  piano  top.  Here 
again,  we  could  observe  a  curious  fact.  The  fore- 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       151 

arm  visible  to  us  was  evidently  a  stump,  since  the 
sleeve  fell  back  for  at  last  30  centimeters  down  the 
front  of  the  piano,  to  the  lid  of  the  keyboard.  The 
apparition  raised  this  partially  formed  member, 
several  times,  throwing  on  the  wall  a  shadow,  which 
followed  its  every  motion. 

"The  woman  in  the  white  bands  had  scarcely  re- 
turned to  the  cabinet,  when  we  heard  anew  the  plaints 
of  Mme.  Paladino,  who  with  redoubled  insistence, 
was  imploring  Professor  Morselli  to  free  her  from 
the  bonds  which  hurt  her. 

"When  we  had  once  more  regained  our  places  the 
curtains  parted  for  some  distance  from  the  floor, 
and  through  a  wide  oval  space  appeared  the  figure 
of  a  woman,  holding  in  her  arms  a  little  child  and 
almost  seeming  to  rock  him.  This  woman,  who 
might  have  been  forty  years  of  age,  wore  a  white 
bonnet,  embroidered  in  white;  and  this  headdress, 
while  covering  the  hair,  left  visible  the  features  of  a 
broad  face,  with  lofty  brow.  The  remaining  part 
of  her  body,  not  concealed  by  the  curtain,  was  cov- 
ered with  white  drapery.  As  concerns  the  child, 
from  what  we  could  judge  by  the  development  of 
the  head  and  body,  it  might  have  been  three  years 
old.  The  little  head  was  bare,  with  very  short  hair 
and  was  on  a  slightly  higher  level  than  the  mother's. 

"The  body  of  the  child  seemed  enveloped  in  swad- 
dling clothes,  also  of  light,  white  fabric.  The  eyes 
of  the  woman  were  raised,  gazing  with  affection  at 
the  child,  who  held  his  head  bent  toward  her. 

"The  apparition  lasted  for  more  than  a  minute. 
We  all  rose  and  drew  nearer  so  that  we  might  follow 
the  slightest  motions.  Before  the  curtain  fell  back, 
the  woman  leaned  her  head  forward  while  the  babyr 


152       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

Bending  down  several  times  from  right  to  left,  fre- 
quently kissed  her  face,  the  childish  sound  of  these 
kisses  being  distinctly  heard. 

"Such  is  the  scrupulously  exact  account  of  a  seance 
whose  importance  may  be  easily  imagined.  The 
phenomena  unfolded  under  conditions  which  abso- 
lutely circumvent  all  objections  of  the  skeptics.  The 
manifestations  occurred  in  full  light,  in  a  chosen 
spot,  carefully  controlled  and  prepared  by  ourselves. 
The  medium  was  subjected  to  a  system  of  investiga- 
tions as  complete  as  could  be  desired. 

"The  medium  was  fastened  in  the  cabinet  in  such 
a  way  as  to  defy  the  most  carping  criticism.  .  .  . 

"DR.  J.  VENZANO." 

Such  was  the  usual  aspect  of  an  experimenta] 
seance  with  Eusapia,  when  she  was  in  full  possession 
of  her  mediumistic  powers.  Naturally,  the  appear- 
ance of  the  phenomena  changes  with  the  experi- 
menters, since  a  phenomenon  is  not  mechanical  and 
each  experimenter  has  his  own  ideas  and  proposes 
different  conditions,  by  conceiving  new  apparatus. 

To-day  Eusapia's  mediumistic  career  is  almost  at 
an  end;  handicapped  by  the  exactions  of  surveil- 
lance, her  manipulations  have  not  given  the  trans- 
cendent proofs  that  might  have  been  obtained 
through  her,  if  experimenters  had  continued  to  guide 
the  seances  along  the  path  of  spiritistic  research. 
Yet  there  is  little  to  regret,  for  Eusapia  will  have 
had  the  glory  of  triumphing  over  the  unbelief  of 
the  scholars  and  have  made  possible  the  objective 
proof  of  manifestations  of  animism.  Perhaps  it  is 
better  that  this  first  step  was  made  in  the  beginning. 

In  order  to  enter  into  spiritism  and  obtain  the 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       153 

presence  of  true  entities,  it  is  not  wise  to  practice 
a  method  of  control  which  is  likely  to  kill  or  paralyze 
manifestation.  One  must  approach  ever  so  gently, 
by  the  mystic  way.  Personalities  who  may  be  identi- 
fied are  not  strong  enough  to  resist  those  who  re- 
pulse them  with  all  the  force  of  their  skepticism. 
They  come  only  by  appeal.  This  complex  question, 
however,  would  entangle  us  in  a  controversy  which 
is  out  of  place  here. 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  in  the  phenomenon,  but 
belief  in  fraud  is  easy.  I  will  not  consider  the 
question  of  fraud,  as  it  would  be  an  absolutely  use- 
less diversion,  since  the  acts  of  impostors  and 
prestidigitators  have  no  relation  to  a  scientifically 
conducted  examination.  Moreover,  as  Morselli  re- 
marks, the  skeptics  only  reiterate  objections  which 
have  been  met  conclusively  a  hundred  times  already. 

Therefore,  we  will  recall  the  example  of  a  famous 
materialization,  for  the  benefit  of  the  reader  who 
cannot  defend  himself  against  these  facile  sugges- 
tions. It  illustrates  the  fact  that  disbelief  is  never 
disarmed. 

It  is  the  case  of  Katie  King;  a  classic  case,  well 
supervised  as  evident  as  anything  may  be  evident 
to  the  feeble  human  intelligence.  It  is  a  case  of 
which  the  skeptics  do  not  like  to  hear,  because  it 
hampers  them  and  they  would  prefer  to  pass  it  over 
in  silence.  Having  been  unable  to  suppress  it  en- 
tirely, they  disparage  it,  but  by  such  clumsy  assump- 
tions, such  childish  affirmations,  that  the  ridicule 
rebounds  upon  them. 

When  the  medium  has  resisted  triumphantly  all 
control,  they  will  tell  you  that  she  has  cheated  some- 
where else,  at  some  time  and  under  some  other  cir- 


154       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

cumstances.  This  might  be  contested  but  it  diverts 
the  discussion,  and  we  pass  it  by. 

They  forget  that  it  is  just  in  order  to  reply  to 
such  contentions  that  a  system  of  control  has  been 
organized,  confided  to  an  arbiter  whose  verdict  every 
one  has  agreed,  in  advance,  to  accept.  It  was  under 
these  conditions  that  William  Crookes,  who  for 
many  years  had  studied  the  whole  series  of  phe- 
nomena, was  made  arbiter  of  the  mediumship  of 
Florence  Cook. 

You  will  hear  it  said,  even  to-day,  that  the  phan- 
tom of  Katie  King  was  seized  in  the  arms  of  a  spec- 
tator, which  is  true;  and  that  Florence  Cook  was 
thus  unmasked,  which  is  false. 

An  incident  of  this  kind  is  always  exploited  by 
men  who  do  not  understand  the  question  of  medium- 
ship.  William  Crookes  was  appointed  to  arbitrate 
in  this  case.  At  this  time  it  was  held  ridiculous 
to  believe  in  phenomena:  passions  were  roused;  the 
hour  was  tense  and  Crookes  was  warned  that  his 
future  as  a  scholar  might  be  wrecked:  we  can  well 
understand  how  necessary  it  was  that  he  should  be 
on  guard. 

The  following  is  the  history  of  the  case :  "A  phan- 
tom had  been  seized  by  a  spectator,  and  a  true 
phantom  thus  embraced  could  only  dematerialize. 
This  was  not  the  opinion  of  the  skeptics,  who  in 
that  day  knew  only  the  phantoms  of  Robert  Hou:lini, 
which  a  sword  might  pierce;  the  phantom  at  the 
time  being  only  an  intangible  thing.  When,  there- 
fore, it  was  seized  it  could  do  nothing  but  demater- 
ialize, which  it  did.  There  followed  an  indescribable 
confusion,  under  cover  of  which  speculations  were 
given  free  rein.  There  were  shouts  and  cries,  and, 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       155 

as  nothing  remained  in  the  arms  of  the  person  who 
believed  he  had  seized  something,  the  critics  spread 
the  report  that  the  medium  had  fled  in  the  darkness. 
There  was  only  one  thing  to  do,  to  examine  the  state 
of  the  medium.  The  critics  however,  had  none  of 
these  scruples;  they  proclaimed  upon  the  housetops 
that  the  medium  had  escaped,  which  was  a  falsehood. 
We  have  the  testimony  of  a  high  authority  concern- 
ing this  seance,  the  great  naturalist  Russel  Wallace." 
We  may  refer  to  his  narration,  in  which  he  certifies 
that  the  medium  was  found  securely  fastened  in  her 
bonds.1 

The  medium  did  what  she  should  have  done,  she 
thought  of  the  great  scholar  who  was  then  studying 
spiristic  facts,  and  promising  to  submit  herself  en- 
tirely to  his  control,  asked  his  protection. 

Sir  Russel  Wallace  states  that  William  Crookes, 
having  received  permission,  did  what  the  skeptical 
gentleman  had  done  without  authority,  that  is,  he 
took  the  spirit  in  his  arms  and  declared  it  was  evi- 
dently that  of  a  living  woman. 

However,  this  spirit  form  was  not  that  of  Miss 
Cook,  nor  of  any  human  being,  seeing  that  she  ap- 
peared and  disappeared  in  closed  and  carefully 
guarded  rooms,  in  the  private  residence  of  William 
Crookes,  as  easily  and  completely  as  in  the  house 
of  the  medium  herself. 

In  an  early  letter  addressed  to  the  spiritualistic 
journals  the  scholar  wrote  in  substance: 

"I  am  known  to  your  readers,  and  they  would 
believe,  I  trust,  that  I  would  not  hurriedly  adopt  an 
opinion  nor  ask  them  to  be  of  my  mind  after  an 

1  Russel  Wallace,  Miracles  and  Modern  Spiritualism,  p.  252. 


156       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

insufficient  proof.  But  what  I  will  ask  them  is  this: 
that  those  who  are  inclined  to  judge  Miss  Cook 
severely,  may  suspend  judgment  until  I  am  able  to 
produce  definite  proof,  which  I  believe  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  solve  the  problem. 

"At  the  present  time  Miss  Cook  is  devoting  her- 
self exclusively  to  a  series  of  private  sittings,  wit- 
nessed only  by  one  or  two  of  my  friends  and  myself. 
These  seances  will  probably  last  for  several  months 
and  I  have  the  promise  that  every  proof  I  may  de- 
sire will  be  given  to  me.  These  seances  have  only 
continued  for  a  few  weeks,  but  there  have  been 
enough  to  convince  me  completely  of  the  sincerity 
and  entire  honesty  of  Miss  Cook,  and  to  give  me 
full  reason  for  believing  that  the  promise  so  freely 
made  by  Katie  will  be  kept. 

"All  which  I  now  ask,  is  that  your  readers  will 
not  hastily  presume  that  whatever,  at  first  sight, 
may  seem  doubtful,  necessarily  implies  deception, 
and  that  they  be  willing  to  suspend  judgment  until 
I  shall  speak  once  more  of  these  phenomena. 
"I  am,  etc. 

"WILLIAM  CEOOKES, 

"Feb.  3,  1874." 

After  having  experimented  at  length  William 
Crookes  finally  wrote:  "I  am  happy  to  say  that  I 
have  at  last  obtained  the  absolute  proof  of  which 
I  spoke  in  the  letter  mentioned  above." 

In  the  following  terms  he  explains  the  precautions 
taken  by  him  in  the  course  of  his  experiments. 

"During  these  six  months  Miss  Cook  visited  me 
frequently,  often  remaining  an  entire  week.  She 
brought  with  her  only  a  small,  unlocked  satchel; 
during  the  day  she  was  constantly  in  the  company 
of  Mrs.  Crookes,  myself,  or  some  other  member  of 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       157 

the  family,  and  since  she  did  not  sleep  alone,  there 
were  no  opportunities  for  her  to  prepare  anything, 
even  of  a  less  complete  character,  which  might  have 
played  the  role  of  Katie  King.  I,  myself,  had  pre- 
pared and  arranged  my  library,  as  well  as  the  dark 
cabinet,  and  customarily  after  Miss  Cook  had  dined 
and  chatted  with  us  she  went  straight  to  the  cabinet 
and,  at  her  request,  I  locked  the  second  door,  keep- 
ing the  key  during  the  seance."  x 

The  reader  should  keep  in  mind  that  the  man  who 
gives  guarantee  of  these  facts  is  a  physician  of  the 
highest  order,  a  man  as  experienced  as  Pasteur  and 
Berthelot,  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society  since  1856, 
and  the  author  of  well-known  works  upon  Physics, 
Chemistry,  Astronomy  and  Photography  of  the 
Heavens.  The  ingenious  inventor  of  the  photometer 
and  of  the  spectral  microscope,  he  also  discovered 
Thallium  and  enlarged  the  domain  of  science  by  dis- 
covering radiant  states  whose  effects  upon  matter 
are  so  formidable  as  to  make  possible  photography 
through  opaque  bodies.  Who  is  there,  remembering 
all  this  and  the  testimony  I  have  just  cited,  who 
would  dare  to  contest  that  these  conditions  impose 
certainty  ? 

However,  there  are  still  critics  who,  to-day,  be- 
lieve that  Miss  Cook  concealed  her  sister  in  a  satchel 
and  brought  her  into  the  house,  hid  her  for  six 
months  from  all  the  household,  gave  her  bed  and 
board,  and  in  the  face  of  the  great  scholar  who 
exercised  the  strictest  surveillance,  continued  suc- 
cessfully a  stupid  comedy  for  six  months.  Such 
credulity  is  revolting. 

This  expose  would  not  be  complete  if  we  did  not 

i  New  Experiments  upon  Psychic  Force. 


158      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

give  according  to  Crookes'  own  description  the  ac- 
count of  a  seance.    A  resume  follows : 

"I  pass  now  to  the  seance  held  yesterday  evening 
at  Hackney.  Never  has  Katie  appeared  in  such 
great  perfection;  for  almost  two  hours  she  walked 
about  the  room  in  friendly  conversation  with  those 
who  were  present.  Several  times  she  took  my  arm 
while  walking,  and  the  impression  I  received,  that 
it  was  a  living  woman  at  my  side  and  not  a  visitor 
from  the  other  world,  was  so  strong  that  the  temp- 
tation to  repeat  a  recent  and  curious  experiment 
became  almost  irresistible.  Realizing  then,  that  if 
it  were  not  a  spirit  beside  me  it  was  in  any  case,  a 
lady,  I  asked  her  permission  to  take  her  in  my  arms 
in  order  to  verify  the  interesting  observations  that 
a  bold  experimenter  had  recently  made  known.  This 
permission  was  graciously  given  and  I  took  advan- 
tage of  it  respectfully,  as  any  gentleman  would  have 
done  in  the  same  circumstances.  Mr.  Volckman  will 
be  delighted  to  know  that  I  can  corroborate  his 
assertion  that  the  'ghost,'  which  made  no  resistance, 
was  a  being  as  material  as  Miss  Cook  herself.  But 
the  sequel  will  show  how  wrong  an  experimenter 
may  be,  however  careful  his  observations,  in  formu- 
lating an  important  conclusion  when  the  proofs  are 
not  sufficient. 

"Katie  then  declared  that  on  this  occasion  she 
felt  able  to  show  herself  at  the  same  time  as  Miss 
Cook.  I  lowered  the  gas,  and  with  my  phosphorus 
lamp  entered  the  room  which  served  as  a  cabinet. 
But  beforehand  I  had  asked  one  of  my  friends,  who 
is.  a  rapid  stenographer,  to  note  down  all  observa- 
tions I  might  make  while  in  the  cabinet.  I  know  the 
importance  of  first  impressions  and  did  not  wish  to 
confide  to  my  memory  more  than  was  necessary.  His 
notes  are  before  me  at  this  moment. 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       159 

"I  entered  the  room  with  precaution.  It  was 
dark  and  I  groped  for  Miss  Cook,  finding  her 
crouched  upon  the  floor.  Kneeling  down,  I  let  the 
air  enter  my  lamp  and  by  its  light  saw  the  young 
woman  dressed  in  black  velvet,  as  she  had  been  at 
the  beginning  of  the  seance,  and  appearing  com- 
pletely insensible.  She  did  not  stir  when  I  took  her 
hand  and  held  the  lamp  near  her  face  but  she  con- 
tinued to  breathe  quietly.  Raising  my  lamp,  I  looked 
around  me  and  saw  Katie,  who  was  standing  close 
behind  Miss  Cook.  She  was  clad  in  floating  white 
drapery,  as  we  had  already  seen  her  during  the 
seance.  Holding  one  of  Miss  Cook's  hands  in  mine, 
and  still  kneeling,  I  raised  and  lowered  the  lamp,  as 
much  to  illumine  the  whole  figure  of  Katie  as  to 
convince  myself  fully  that  I  really  saw  the  true 
Katie,  whom  I  had  held  in  my  arms  a  few  moments 
ago,  and  not  the  phantom  of  a  disordered  brain. 
She  did  not  speak  but  nodded  her  head  in  recogni- 
tion. Three  different  times  I  carefully  examined 
Miss  Cook,  crouching  before  me,  to  assure  myself 
that  the  hand  I  held  was  indeed  that  of  a  living 
woman,  and  thrice  turned  my  lamp  towards  Katie 
to  scrutinize  her  with  sustained  attention,  until  I 
had  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  she  was  really  there 
before  me.  Finally  Miss  Cook  made  a  slight  move- 
ment, and  at  once  Katie  signed  to  me  to  go.  I 
withdrew  to  another  part  of  the  cabinet  and  then 
lost  sight  of  Katie,  but  I  did  not  leave  the  room 
until  Miss  Cook  was  awakened  and  two  of  the  as- 
sistants had  entered  with  a  light." 

Let  us  now  consider  the  medium's  point  of  view. 
What  does  she  feel?  What  are  her  intimate  sensa- 
tions? We  possess  a  very  valuable  document,  due 
to  a  society  lady,  Mme.  d'Esperance,  endowed  with 
remarkable  mediumistic  powers.  She  has  written  a 


160      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

kind  of  autoscope,  describing  her  physical  and  men- 
tal sensations  during  the  production  of  materializa- 
tion phenomena.  It  was  in  a  most  accidental  manner 
that  this  lady  discovered  the  power  she  possessed. 
In  an  intimate  gathering,  one  evening  when  a  per- 
sistent rain  prevented  her  friends  from  returning 
home,  someone  proposed  to  xpass  the  time  by  at- 
tempting to  hold  a  seance.  Several  persons  offered 
themselves  for  the  experiment,  entering  the  dark 
cabinet;  one  fell  asleep,  another  became  frightened, 
finally  the  turn  of  Madame  d'Esperance  came,  and 
we  will  let  her  take  up  the  story.1 

"I  do  not  like  to  confess  it  but  at  that  moment 
I  was  seized  with  something  very  much  like  fear  and 
felt  a  keen  desire  to  run  toward  the  light  and  rejoin 
the  group  of  singers ;  however,  I  remained  seated. 
I  felt  glued  to  my  chair,  fearing  that  this  'some- 
thing' would  touch  me  and  convinced  that  if  it  did 
I  should  utter  piercing  cries.  I  became  alternately 
burning  hot  and  frozen  and  would  have  given  much 
to  be  on  the  other  side  of  the  curtains.  I  knew  I 
had  only  to  stretch  out  my  hand  to  push  them  aside 
but  I  was  a  prey  to  an  indescribable  sensation  of 
solitude  and  isolation  which  seemed  to  place  me  at 
a  vast  distance  from  the  others.  This  strange  emo- 
tion almost  overcame  my  desire  to  be  brave  and  I 
was  on  the  point  of  rushing  from  the  cabinet  when 
a  hand,  touching  my  shoulder,  obliged  me  to  reseat 
myself. 

"Strangely  enough  this  pressure,  which  in  other 
circumstances  would  have  overwhelmed  me  immeasur- 
ably, had  the  effect  of  calming  my  fever  and  fear." 

i  In  Shadow  Land  (Au  pays  de  1'ombre  by  E.  d'Esp6rance), 
pp.  188-189. 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       161 

Numerous  forms  appeared  about  Madame  d'Es- 
perance;  many  of  them,  had  the  physical  appearance 
of  persons  known  to  the  spectators,  but  had  no 
resemblance  to  the  medium.  However,  there  were 
also  forms  in  her  exact  likeness.  Thus  she  recounts 
on  page  238: 

"I  obtained  permission  to  leave  my  seat  in  the 
cabinet  and  came  slowly  and  with  difficulty  from 
behind  the  curtains,  where  a  white  figure  was  stand- 
ing. To  my  infinite  surprise  I  found  myself  face 
to  face  with — myself;  at  least,  so  it  seemed  to  me. 

"The  materialized  spirit  was  a  little  larger  than  I, 
and  of  more  vivid  complexion,  her  hair  was  longer, 
her  features  heavier  and  her  eyes  larger.  Yet  on 
looking  at  this  face  I  thought  I  saw  myself  in  a 
mirror,  the  resemblance  was  so  great. 

"The  spirit  laid  her  hands  upon  my  shoulders  and 
gazing  at  me  attentively  murmured,  'Mignonne,  ma 
petite.'  (My  dear  little  one)." 

This  spirit,  which  appeared  often,  was  called  the 
French  lady  and  was  one  of  the  rare  apparitions 
capable  of  speaking.  The  author  said  concerning 
her:  "She  was  my  particular  friend,  as  we  all  knew, 
and  came  on  my  account,  although  she  gave  much 
less  attention  to  me  than  to  the  other  members  of 
the  society.  The  special  role  I  had  to  play  in  the 
seances  prevented  her,  perhaps,  from  showing  me 
her  affection  for  she  had  noticed  that  whatever  es- 
pecially occupied  my  mind  or  aroused  my  interest 
caused  a  weakening,  a  notable  decrease  in  her  power 
among  us.  She  always  showed  far  more  regard  to 
the  others,  particularly  to  Mr.  F.,  the  only  one 
who  could  speak  her  native  language." 


162       PROOFS  OP  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

It  is  certain  that  the  entity  manifesting  herself 
in  the  very  substance  of  the  medium,  would  avoid 
releasing  this  matter  which  did  not  belong  to  her. 
At  the  slightest  excitement,  the  subconscious  action 
of  the  medium  tended  to  recovery  of  her  own  cells; 
it  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  leave  the  medium  in 
her  state  of  coma  and  to  spare  her  all  emotion.  In 
some  cases  the  assistants  were  able  to  furnish  part 
of  the  elements,  and  thus  relieve  the  medium. 

So  extraordinary  a  phenomenon  is  always  difficult 
to  explain.  We  are  forced  to  take  account  of  the 
psychological  analysis  which  Madame  d'Esperance 
has  given  of  herself.  This  analysis  sets  forth  the 
consecutive  sensations  of  the  seizure  of  her  bodily 
substance,  and  on  the  psychological  side,  the  tele- 
pathic sensations  which  prove  her  participation  in 
the  life  of  the  phantom.  But  we  must  not  conclude 
that  entities  of  the  other  worlds  are  not  also  present. 
Indeed,  we  notice  that  even  though  the  sensation 
belongs  to  the  medium,  her  passivity  is  required. 
The  medium  does  not  act  within  the  phantom,  and 
the  latter  has  a  tendency  to  dissolve  as  the  will  of 
the  medium  seeks  to  regain  her  organism.  This 
means  that  the  phantom  can  do  nothing  except  by 
means  of  the  organs  it  borrows  and  without  which 
it  would  have  no  existence  upon  the  material  plane; 
but  this  does  not  mean  that  it  is  not  master  of  its 
acts  upon  the  mental  plane. 

In  fact,  the  medium,  physiologically  impoverished, 
finds  herself  in  a  strange  situation.  She  shares  the 
sensations  of  the  phantom,  since  it  is  her  own  sub- 
stance which  constitutes  the  materiality  of  the  ap- 
parition. Whatever  touches  the  phantom  affects 
her,  but  it  is  wrong  to  see  in  this  a  proof  of  the 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       163 

identity  of  the  medium  and  her  phantom.  The  iden- 
tity is  wholly  material,  while  the  mentality  of  the 
phantom  remains  independent. 

This  mutual  sharing  of  matter  by  two  possessors 
renders  absolutely  criminal  the  attacks  made  by  new 
comers  before  they  have  gained  any  rational  idea 
of  the  phenomenon.  The  race  of  unbelievers  knows 
no  golden  mean  between  an  outright  deception  and 
an  apparition  embodying  their  mystical  idea  of  a 
heavenly  creature,  with  them  a  p  re-conceived  notion. 
Like  Miss  Florence  Cook,  our  medium  was  the  victim 
of  one  of  these  brutal  seizures. 

Madame  d'Esperance  thus  describes  the  attack: 

"I  do  not  know  how  the  seance  began.  I  had 
seen  Yolande  take  her  pitcher  upon  her  shoulder 
and  leave  the  cabinet.  I  learned  later  what  took 
place.  What  I  felt  was  the  anguishing,  horrible 
sensation  of  being  crushed  or  smothered,  the  sensa- 
tion I  imagine,  of  a  rubber  doll  being  violently  em- 
braced by  its  small  owner.  Then  terror  overwhelmed 
me  and  I  was  in  an  agony  of  distress;  I  seemed  to 
lose  the  use  of  my  senses  and  imagined  myself  falling 
into  a  fearful  abyss,  knowing,  seeing  and  hearing 
nothing  save  the  echo  of  a  piercing  cry,  which  seemed 
to  come  from  afar.  As  I  felt  myself  falling  I  tried 
to  grasp  a  support  and  found  none;  I  fainted  and 
came  to,  trembling  with  horror  as  from  a  death 
blow. 

"My  senses  seemed  scattered  to  all  the  winds  and 
it  was  only  little  by  little,  that  I  could  come  to  my- 
self enough  to  understand  what  had  happened. 
Yolande  had  been  seized,  having  been  mistaken  for 
me!"1 

i  Au  pays  de  I' ombre,  p.  244. 


164       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

Unfortunately  there  are  still  fools  who  declare 
that  chicanery  has  been  unmasked  by  similar  actions. 
But  it  was  just  such  an  act  which  consequently 
placed  Miss  Florence  Cook  under  the  scientific  con- 
trol of  Messrs.  Crookes  and  Varley,  and  such  acts 
have  left  nothing  in  the  arms  of  those  who  committed 
them.  Did  they  seize  some  wretched  mannikin?  No 
— but  the  medium  came  out  physically  broken,  with 
a  serious  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs. 

This  outrage  was  later  followed  by  fortunate  con- 
sequences. The  medium  declared  with  sincerity,  "If 
I  have  some  part  in  the  creation  of  these  forms,  I 
wish  to  know  it."  And  taking  up  her  experiments 
once  more,  with  her  usual  spirit  of  investigation, 
decided  not  to  enter  the  cabinet  again,  but  to  remain 
among  the  audience. 

In  this  second  series  of  experiments,  we  should 
note  two  instructive  seances.  We  might  wonder  if 
it  is  not  a  question  of  a  mere  redoubling  of  the 
medium,  without  intervention  by  an  occult  entity. 
Mme.  d'Esperance  answers  the  question.  It  was  in 
Christiania  during  the  course  of  a  seance  in  which 
different  apparitions  had  already  appeared,  Mme. 
d'Esperance  thus  completes  her  story: 

"Now  they  saw  another  figure  advance,  smaller, 
slenderer,  and  holding  out  her  arms.  Someone  rose 
from  the  circle,  hurried  toward  her  and  fell  into 
her  arms.  I  heard  inarticulate  cries,  'Anna,  Oh, 
Anna !  My  child,  my  love.' 

"Another  person  also  approached  and  took  the 
spirit  in  her  arms;  tears,  sobs  and  thanksgivings 
were  mingled.  I  felt  my  body  drawn  to  the  right 
and  left  and  everything  grew  dark  before  my  eyes. 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       165 

I  felt  the  arms  of  someone  about  me,  and  yet  I  was 
alone,  seated  upon  my  chair.  I  felt  the  heart  of 
someone  beat  against  my  breast.  I  felt  all  this  was 
happening  to  me,  and  yet  there  was  no  person  near 
me  except  the  two  children.  No  one  remembered  my 
presence;  all  thoughts  and  all  eyes  seemed  concen- 
trated upon  the  white  and  delicate  figure  surrounded 
by  the  arms  of  the  two  women  in  mourning. 

"It  was  indeed  my  own  heart  that  I  felt  beating 
so  distinctly — but  those  arms  around  me?  I  had 
never  experienced  a  contact  as  real  and  began  to 
wonder  who  I  was.  Was  I  the  white  silhouette  or 
the  person  seated  in  the  chair?  Were  those  my 
hands  round  the  neck  of  the  elderly  lady,  or  were 
they  mine  which  lay  upon  my  knees?  I  mean  upon 
the  knees  of  the  person  seated  upon  the  chair,  in  case 
that  was  not  myself. 

"Certainly  they  were  my  lips  that  received  the 
kisses ;  it  was  my  face  that  I  felt  wet  with  the  tears 
shed  so  abundantly  by  the  two  ladies — yet  how  could 
that  be?  It  was  a  terrible  feeling  thus  to  lose  con- 
sciousness of  one's  identity.  I  strove  to  raise  one  of 
those  useless  hands  and  to  touch  someone,  in  order 
to  know  if  I  really  existed,  or  was  merely  the  victim 
of  a  dream;  if  Anna  were  myself  or  if  I  had  con- 
fused my  personality  with  hers. 

I  felt  the  trembling  arms  of  the  old  lady,  I  felt 
the  kisses,  tears  and  caresses  of  her  sister;  I  heard 
their  blessings,  and,  seized  with  a  veritable  agony  of 
doubt,  I  wondered  how  long  it  would  last.  How 
long  shall  we  be  two?  And  how  will  it  end?  Will 
I  be  Anna  or  will  Anna  be  me? 

"Suddenly  I  felt  two  little  hands  slip  into  mine, 
which  lay  inert.  They  put  me  once  more  into  pos- 


166      PROOFS  OP  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

session  of  myself.  With  a  feeling  of  great  joy  I 
felt  that  I  was  indeed  myself.  Little  Jonte,  weary 
of  being  eclipsed  by  the  three  materialized  forms, 
suddenly  felt  lonely  and  took  my  hands  to  comfort 
himself  with  my  company. 

"How  profoundly  happy  I  was  made  by  the  simple 
touch  of  a  child's  hand!  My  doubts  as  to  my  in- 
dividuality and  location  had  vanished  and  as  these 
thoughts  came  to  me,  the  white  silhouette  of  Anna 
disappeared  into  the  cabinet  and  the  two  ladies  re- 
turned to  their  places,  overcome,  weeping,  but 
transported  with  joy." 

It  requires  an  effort  of  the  imagination  to  put 
ourselves  in  the  medium's  situation,  and  to  realize 
its  dramatic  character.  After  years  of  study,  Mme. 
d'Esperance  still  wondered  if  she  had  been  a  victim 
of  auto-suggestion.  Sure  of  her  sincerity,  she  was 
not  sure  of  the  reality  of  the  apparitions.  Recalling 
the  resemblance  of  Yolande  to  herself,  the  brutal 
seizure  from  which  she  had  formerly  suffered  raised 
a  new  problem.  She  no  longer  felt  her  body,  was 
unconscious  of  her  location,  on  the  contrary  she  felt 
intensely  whatever  she  saw  come  into  contact  with 
the  phantom.  The  spectators,  solely  occupied  with 
the  apparition,  seemed  to  ignore  her  presence,  and 
her  mind  became  deranged;  finally,  a  child's  caress 
released  her  from  this  anguish.  Therefore,  she  was 
not  absent,  she  was  indeed  there  upon  her  chair, 
visible  to  all.  She  was  not  the  other  in  whom  all 
her  sensations  seemed  confused. 

This  phrase,  "Am  I  Anna  or  is  Anna  myself?" 
is  in  its  simplicity,  absolutely  expressive.  It  be- 
speaks the  trouble  of  a  sincere  medium  and  explains 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       167 

the  hasty  judgments  of  unfair  experimenters.  In 
short  the  confusion  of  sensations  might  cause  the 
medium  to  lose  the  distinction  between  the  organ  and 
its  double.  When  she  wishes  to  make  an  effort,  as 
was  the  case  with  Eusapia,  upon  whom  were  imposed 
experiments  of  a  physical  nature,  she  cannot  always 
discern  whether  it  be  the  invisible  fluidic  member  or 
the  hand  of  flesh  that  obeys  the  suggestion,  and  at 
the  least  suspicious  movement  of  the  latter,  most 
unjust  judgments  are  formed. 

In  the  case  of  Madame  d'Esperance,  it  was  her 
entire  body  which  felt  this  uncertainty  of  itself,  but 
her  reasoning  powers  remained  intact.  This  has  been 
excellently  said  by  M.  Gabriel  Delanne. 

"Thus  it  seems  incontestable  that  insofar  as  matter 
is  concerned,  medium  and  phantom  are  strictly  in- 
terdependent and  intimately  united;  but  from  the 
psychological  point  of  view,  the  separation  is  com- 
plete. They  are  two  distinct  beings  existent  at  the 
same  moment,  but  as  different  one  from  the  other 
as  if  the  same  substance  did  not  serve  them  at  the 
same  moment.  A  materialized  spirit  and  a  medium 
are  somewhat  like  the  Siamese  twins,  who  had  a  part 
of  the  body  in  common,  but  whose  heads  thought 
separately,  each  on  its  own  side."  1 

Thus  the  phenomenon  borrows  the  substance  of 
the  medium,  dissociating  the  organs  without  dissolv- 
ing the  thinking  individuality. 

It  is  almost  contrary  with  the  outgoing  of  a  soul ; 
the  soul  remains  and  the  body  partly  withdraws,  at 
the  suggestion  of  a  foreign  influence. 

We  might  quote  still  other  famous  materializa- 
tions. In  1886  in  London,  Aksakof  succeeded  in 

i  G.  Delanne,  Lea  Apparitions  Mattrialistes.   Vol.  11,  p.  687. 


168       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

taking  photographs  in  which  the  medium  and  the 
apparition  were  visible  simultaneously.1  The  medium 
was  Eglinton,  the  same  who  gave  the  magnificent 
apparition  witnessed  by  the  painter  James  Tissot, 
who  preserved  its  memory  for  us  in  his  splendid 
engraving. 

Dr.  Gibier,  founder  of  the  Pasteur  Institute  in 
New  York,  gave  an  account  of  his  experiences 
with  Mrs.  Salmon,  in  a  memoir  addressed  to  the 
Psychological  Congress  in  Paris  on  the  materializa- 
tion of  phantoms.  Charles  Richet  observed  in  Al- 
giers in  1905  at  the  home  of  General  Noel  a  ma- 
terialized form,  and  in  a  minutely  detailed  report, 
demonstrated  that  this  personage  was  neither  a  re- 
flected image,  a  mirror,  a  doll  nor  a  mannikin.  This, 
however,  did  not  prevent  certain  petty  individuals, 
seeking  notoriety,  from  launching  an  infamous  at- 
tack by  setting  forth  hypotheses  incompatible  with 
the  facts  and  mutually  sustaining  one  another  by 
each  bringing  forward  a  different  version.  Never- 
theless, Richet's  report  still  exists  unimpaired  and 
among  other  conclusive  statements  he  wrote: 

"In  any  case  this  remains,  which  is  of  considerable 
value — that  a  living  body  took  form  before  my  eyes 
in  front  of  the  curtain,  rising  from  the  floor  and 
returning  into  the  floor. 

"I  was  so  fully  persuaded  that  this  living  body 
could  not  proceed  from  the  curtain,  that  I  suspected 
at  first  a  trap,  which  was  absurd. 

"The  day  following  this  experiment,  I  examined 
minutely  the  tile  and  the  coach  house  directly  under 
this  part  of  the  pavilion.  The  very  high  ceiling 

iSee  G.  Delanne,  Lea  Apparitions  Materialises.  Vol.  II, 
pp.  294-399. 


COMPLETE  MATERIALIZATIONS       169 

of  this  stable  was  plastered  with  lime,  hung  with 
spider  webs  and  inhabited  by  spiders  which  had  not 
been  disturbed  for  a  long  time,  when  by  means  of 
a  ladder,  I  explored  the  ceiling."  1 

Those  who  know  this  scholarly  physiologist,  are 
aware  that  he  makes  no  affirmation  lightly. 

i  Annales  des  Sciences  Psychiques.    Nov.,  1905,  p.  658. 


CHAPTER  IX 
MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE 


In  every  living  germ  there  is  a  creative 
idea  which  develops  and  manifests  itself  by 
organization. 

CLAUDE  BERNARD. 


ABOUT  1895  Aksakoff  arrived  at  this  conclusion: 

"We  see  a  prodigious  fact  rise  before  us,  one 
that  no  one  has  dared  examine,  a  fact  which  is 
destined  to  become  one  of  the  most  brilliant  acquisi- 
tions of  anthropological  science  and  which  we  shall 
owe  to  Spiritism — namely:  that  the  physical  and 
psychic  action  of  man  is  not  confined  to  the 
periphery  of  his  body."1 

In  truth,  as  we  have  stated,  the  possibility  of 
effecting  an  action  on  matter  without  contact  is 
destined  to  modify  all  our  ideas  upon  the  existence 
of  the  nervous  current  which  physiologists  agree 
in  considering  as  a  product  of  the  organism  of  man 
and  animals. 

Though  the  power  of  moving  a  heavy  body  with- 
out contact  necessitates  the  intervention  of  a  mate- 
rial agent,  no  one  any  longer  attributes  this  effect 
to  a  nervous  current  which  could  make  itself  felt 
outside  of  the  ways  of  conduction.  At  once,  the 
existence  of  a  psychic  element  becomes  a  necessary 
lAnwmtme  et  Spiritisme,  by  Alexander  Aksakoff,  1896,  p.  523. 
170  . 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      171 

hypothesis,  and  another  fact — the  mental  sugges- 
tion passing  from  one  brain  to  another — proves  the 
presence  of  an  unknown  element,  material  or  im- 
material, we  cannot  tell  which. 

Here  we  have  firmly  established,  on  a  secure  basis, 
the  problem  of  existence  of  an  active  agent  inde- 
pendent of  our  organs.  Let  us  call  this  agent 
psychic  force;  in  it  we  have  the  cause,  the  true 
motive  power,  of  our  organs.  It  is  without  contact, 
is  it  not,  that  Nature  proceeds  to  operate  on 
matter?  Does  not  the  force  of  gravitation  suffice 
to  prove  action  from  a  distance?  And  attraction, 
does  it  not  act  by  means  of  the  nervous  current? 
A  planet  does  not  come  out  of  nothingness,  it  comes 
from  the  invisible  and  is  constituted  as  an  opaque 
body.  That  is  to  say,  it  materializes  itself.  On 
the  planet  which  was  in  the  beginning  but  a  lifeless 
desert  all  organized  beings  appeared.  These  were 
nothing  but  materializations.  The  germination  of 
plants  is  a  materialization  which  takes  place  under 
our  eyes,  and  which  is  not  caused  by  chemical  action. 
Two  similar  grains,  of  different  kinds,  may  be 
planted  in  a  soil,  chemically  identical  and  make 
themselves  into  different  chemical  bodies.  That  is  to 
say,  their  psychic  faculty  permits  them  to  make  a 
selection  among  the  elements  which  are  offered  them, 
exactly  as  selection  takes  place  within  our  stomachs 
and  our  intestines.  That  it  is  incontestably  a 
psychic  action  will  become  still  more  apparent  with 
further  examination.  The  ivy,  arrived  at  the  top 
of  the  wall  which  sustains  it,  changes  its  form  of 
materialization.  From  the  simple  climber  that  it 
was,  it  will  develop  branches  and  even  modify  the 
form  of  its  leaves,  which  will  no  longer  be  star- 


172      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

shaped.  A  climbing  plant  directs  itself  to  the  right 
or  to  the  left,  according  as  I  incline  the  point  of 
support,  towards  which  it  tends.  Still  further, 
the  plant  determines  its  own  organs  and  the  direc- 
tion of  the  so-called  nervous  current.  If,  in  the 
beginning  of  summer,  I  cut  a  twig  of  privet  or  of 
elder  just  opening  into  leaf,  and  if  I  plant  it  up- 
side down  in  the  ground,  it  will  put  forth  roots,  and 
strong  ones,  thus  modifying  the  chemical  composi- 
tion of  its  bud,  and  the  sap,  changing  its  course, 
will  go  up  instead  of  down.  Let  us  pass  to  the 
living  animal.  We  can,  by  means  of  skillful  graft- 
ing, reverse  a  rat's  tail;  and  surely  here  the  so- 
called  nervous  current  would  be  able  in  this  new 
position,  to  divert  its  direction.  These  are  some 
of  the  reflections  that  present  themselves  in  simple 
support  of  the  fact  that  an  object  may  be  moved 
without  contact. 

We  may  well  state  that  the  agent  which  shakes 
the  table  comes  from  an  organic  action;  but  it  is 
the  action  of  a  psychic  organ,  to  which  we  can 
attribute  all  active  power,  outside  of  the  nervous 
current.  Experience  proves  to  us  that  this  psychic 
element,  exteriorized  by  a  group  of  persons  placed 
around  a  table,  is  sensitive  and  active.  More  than 
that,  it  is,  like  the  human  soul,  accessible  to  the 
most  unconscious  and  most  distant  suggestions. 
Something  like  a  field  of  magnetic  force  is  created 
by  the  fluidic  exteriorization  of  all  the  persons 
present.  This  field  of  force  is  sensitive  to  sugges- 
tions, or  creates  an  echo  of  all  the  present  or  ex- 
traneous thoughts,  and  is  translated  by  movement. 
There  is  here  a  veritable  animistic  field,  an  element 
which  is  the  vehicle  of  telepathic  action.  Here  we 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      173 

are  in  the  presence  of  a  colossal  fact,  of  which  many 
have  failed  to  grasp  the  importance.  It  is  that 
thought  is  capable  of  stirring  matter  without  the 
help  of  the  nervous  current!  But,  in  order  not  to 
offend  the  physiologists,  I  will  agree  with  them 
that  the  nervous  current  incontestably  exists;  only, 
I  should  define  it  thus : 

All  life  in  nature  is  sustained  and  nourished  by 
a  telepathic  current  extending  everywhere  and  of 
an  unknown  essence.  The  portion  of  the  current 
which  traverses  an  organic  unity  is  called  nervous 
current. 

We  shall  develop  this  conception,  and  we  hope  to 
show  how  the  presence  in  the  human  body  of  a 
fluidic  invisible  element,  endowed  with  the  double 
power  of  acting  and  of  feeling,  extending  its  action 
beyond  the  organs  which  enclose  it,  gives  us  the 
key  to  all  organic  movements.  It  even  permits  us 
to  understand,  in  a  certain  measure,  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  beings  upon  earth,  which  is  only  a 
phenomenon  of  slow  materialization  under  that  form 
of  evolution  which  science  calls  phylogenic.  And  we 
shall  also  explain  the  evolution  of  the  individual — 
that  is  to  say,  ontogenesis. 


ORGANIC  MOVEMENTS 

Let  us  try  to  understand  first  how  our  individual 
self  conducts  itself  within  us,  considered  as  the  force 
capable  of  moving  our  organs.  How  shall  we  ex- 
plain the  relation  of  soul  and  body. 

This  may  be  explained  very  simply  by  supposing 
that  our  organs  themselves  are  provided  with  a 
certain  independent  animic  power,  of  which  the  re- 


174       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

serve  is  fed  by  the  same  substantial  currents  which 
traverse  our  organism. 

We  know  that  our  body  is  merely  the  sum  of  small 
organisms  which  are  called  cells. 

The  cells  are  agglomerated,  specialized,  and  or- 
ganized according  to  the  functions  they  are  called 
upon  to  fulfill.  One  association  will  form,  for  ex- 
ample, the  eyelid,  the  iris,  and  cornea,  which  are 
organs.  A  grouping  of  different  organs  constitutes 
a  mechanism,  such  as  the  visual  or  respiratory 
mechanism.  The  construction  of  the  organic  edi- 
fice resembles  very  much  the  work  of  the  compositor 
in  a  printing  shop.  First,  he  looks  for  the  characters, 
which  represent  the  cells ;  and  then  he  assembles 
them  to  form  the  words.  Each  phrase  is  an  organ, 
many  organs  concur  in  the  development  of  a  com- 
plex argument,  the  whole  forming  the  thesis,  or  body 
of  the  book,  which  represents  physiological  unity. 
Finally,  the  human  body  reduces  itself,  in  the  last 
analysis,  to  the  cell  which  constitutes  at  the  same 
time  the  tiniest  living  body  and  the  feeblest  degree 
of  the  thinking  and  acting  substance  of  the  mar- 
row and  of  the  brain.  It  is  a  being,  already  evolved, 
which  has  not  been  able  to  realize  its  materialization 
except  in  a  surrounding  already  prepared  to  re- 
ceive it.  It  is  clothed  in  a  medullary  tube,  whose 
formation  preceded  that  of  the  brain.  Even  to-day 
a  human  being,  when  it  is  forming  in  the  womb  of 
its  mother,  begins  by  constructing  itself  on  a  medul- 
lary axis,  without  a  skull,  without  a  brain. 

The  brain,  temple  of  mystery,  is  the  final  un- 
folding of  the  materialization  of  the  nervous  system 
and  the  apparent  seat  of  the  activities  perceived 
by  our  consciousness  and  interpreted  by  it.  Be- 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      175 

neath  the  brain  is  the  spinal  cord,  which,  as  every- 
one knows,  is  protected  by  the  vertebral  column. 
Throughout  its  length,  nerves  go  out,  emanating 
everywhere,  extending  the  voluntary  action  which 
comes  from  the  brain  to  all  the  periphery  (and 
beyond,  let  us  not  forget).  On  the  other  hand,  the 
cutaneous  surface  is  the  ending  of  a  multitude  of 
nervous  fibers  which  are  the  recipients  of  feeling. 
This  constitutes  the  double  function  of  the  motory 
and  sensory  nerves,  which  in  the  vertebrae  are  repre- 
sented by  a  double  column,  descending  and  ascend- 
ing, or  again  centrifugal  and  centripetal,  according 
to  the  direction  of  the  telepathic  current  which 
transmits  the  activities  or  sensations.  The  direc- 
tion of  a  current  does  not  exist  by  virtue  of  a 
specific  property  inherent  to  matter,  but  by  a  sug- 
gestion which  has  been  long  imposed  and  which  may 
be  modified.  Aside  from  these  clusters  of  the 
vertebral  column,  we  have  nerves  which  correspond 
to  the  senses  of  sight,  hearing,  smell,  etc.  These 
are  grafted  more  directly  on  the  brain  cavity  and 
communicate  with  the  organic  mechanism  of  far 
higher  functions.  They  are  our  informers.  The 
auditive  and  the  visual  mechanisms  have  already  ac- 
quired an  aptitude  to  retain  sensations  of  sound  and 
light.  These  our  superior  consciousness  interprets 
in  its  turn,  according  to  the  internal  representation 
which  we  have  created  for  ourselves  during  the  course 
of  centuries. 

Thus  cells,  organs,  and  mechanisms  represent  to 
a  certain  degree  an  incorporation  of  the  thinking 
and  acting  substance.  At  every  step  of  the  organic 
scale  the  soul  is  manifest  in  a  matter  which  renews 
itself  endlessly  and  whose  integral  renewals  no  more 


176       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

harm  the  phenomenon  of  consciousness  than  they 
harm  the  superior  physiological  unity. 

Matter  vanishes,  but  the  sphere  of  animic  force 
remains.  In  whatever  part  of  the  living  body  an 
anatomist  may  place  his  scalpel,  he  arouses  a  con- 
sciousness, touches  a  sensibility.  What  he  calls  re- 
actions are  willed  determinations;  and,  on  our  side, 
we  term  subconscious  this  independent  action  of  an 
organ  acting  spontaneously. 

In  short,  the  nervous  system  appears  as  a  vast 
network  of  telepathic  transmissions,  through  which 
we  send  messages  reaching  all  points  of  our  territory. 
They  bring  back  to  us  all  the  information  of  interest 
on  condition  that  we  lend  our  attention. 

Such  is  the  human  being.  At  birth,  he  has  an 
already  organized  net-work  of  nerves ;  and  if  the 
child  really  came  into  the  world  for  the  first  time, 
it  would  be  as  miraculous  as  the  apparition  of  a 
book  issuing  from  the  printer's  shop  without  the 
intervention  of  any  intelligence.  Let  us  now  examine 
the  process  of  materialization  observed  under  its 
most  rudimentary  form,  the  only  form  available  for 
scientific  study. 

Most  scientific  men  who  have  followed  the  seances 
of  Eusapia  Paladino,  and  have  verified  regretfully 
the  reality  of  the  plastic  formations,  have  consoled 
themselves  by  affirming  that  nothing  issued  from 
her  except  by  her  own  desire.  If  that  were  really 
attained,  the  will  would  then  be  capable  of  moving 
organic  molecules  and  of  drawing  them  outside  the 
organism  in  order  to  model  the  meditated  forms. 
It  would  thus  create  images  or  organs  whose  psychic 
exteriorization  would  furnish  the  material. 

We  ask  no  more,  for  with  the  help  of  survival, 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      177 

the  survivor  may  in  his  turn  manifest  himself  under 
the  forms  and  appearances  which  he  judges  best. 
This  would  lead  us  to  admit,  at  least,  a  material 
element  in  thought,  and  a  creative  power  of  the 
mind.  Through  this  we  should  arrive  at  a  new  con- 
ception of  all  the  movements  of  life. 

It  is  very  certain  that  there  is  no  death  in  or- 
ganic matter.  There  is  nothing,  however  inert, 
which  is  not  to  a  certain  degree  sensitive  and  con- 
scious. There  are  no  organic  molecules  that  do  not 
depend,  in  some  more  or  less  distant  manner,  upon 
will. 

We  come  back  to  the  old  adage,  Mens  agitat 
molem.  And,  since  Nature  is  simple  in  her  laws, 
we  must  search  for  the  origin  of  the  creation  of 
beings,  nebulae  and  simple  atoms  in  an  immaterial 
force,  in  a  thinking  power  of  the  same  nature  as 
that  which  we  feel  within  ourselves. 

The  materializations  which  produce  forms — at 
first  nebulous,  then  hands,  and  then  the  entire  phan- 
toms— are  related  to  the  processes  of  evolution 
realized  by  nature. 

If  there  is  something  true  in  the  theories  previously 
advanced — in  the  polyzoism  of  Durand  de  Gros, 
animism,  transmission  of  images,  and  movements  at 
a  distance,  etc. — there  is  no  longer  room  for  sur- 
prise that  thought  may  exercise  a  plastic  action  on 
exteriorized  animic  substance.  Our  organic  rela- 
tions are  telepathic  phenomena ;  the  so-called  nervous 
currents  are  psychic  currents.  As  to  seances  of 
materialization,  I  am  certain  that  ultimate  experi- 
ments will  convince  us  that  the  thought  of  the 
audience  is  like  a  motive  center  of  excitation,  as 


178      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

capable   of   provoking   systematic   inhibition   as   of 
contributing  to  the  creation  of  plastic  forms. 

Materialization  may   be   understood,   then,   as   a 
sphere  of  momentarily  exteriorized  power,  reinforced 
by  organic  molecules,  upon  which  the  will  acts. 
*  *  *  * 

Telepathy,  acting  in  the  organic  sphere,  adapts 
itself  admirably  to  our  physiological  knowledge  if 
we  replace  the  purely  conventional  idea  of  the  action 
of  nervous  currents  for  that  of  volition. 

This  would  be  far  more  comprehensible,  for  I 
acknowledge  that  to  speak  of  excitation  of  a  nerve 
does  not  make  its  movement  clear  to  me.  You  may 
call  a  certain  center  "excito-motor,"  but  that  does 
not  confer  upon  it  any  activity.  On  the  contrary, 
a  volition  transmitted  by  telepathy  is  an  action  that 
may  be  put  in  the  same  category  as  the  facts  pre- 
viously observed.  The  organs  and  the  brain  itself 
being  necessarily  strangers  to  telepathic  perception, 
the  phenomena  presuppose  the  intermediary  of 
psychic  agents,  not  as  yet  known  to  physics.  The 
nervous  current  is  only  an  hypothesis,  but  psychical 
transmission  is  an  empirical  truth  which  it  is  no 
longer  possible  to  disregard.  We  may  even  experi- 
ment with  it  anatomically.  We  may  isolate  from 
the  brain  the  so-called  nervous  currents,  and  thereby 
note  the  subordinate  currents  which  continue  to  act 
in  a  more  restricted  region.  Thus,  for  example, 
we  know  that  the  sensitive  and  motive  fibers  emerge 
from  the  spinal  column.  We  might  believe  that  these 
fibers  are  simple  conductors  which  live  with  the  life 
of  the  brain,  to  which  they  are  united.  But  this  is 
not  true.  It  astonishes  many  physiologists,  but 
these  groups  of  nerves  have  their  own  life.  From 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      179 

an  ancient  discovery,  which  has  been  verified  by 
Claude  Bernard,  we  find  that  if  these  groups  of 
sensitive  nerves  are  cut  below  the  ganglion,  which 
is  near  the  point  of  contact,  the  nerve  dies,  or  at 
least  it  seems  to  die,  because  it  no  longer  gives  signs 
of  sensitivenes.  But  if  the  severance  is  made  higher 
up,  and  the  ganglion  remains  attached  to  the  nerve, 
it  lives.  This  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  the 
ganglion  occupies  the  place  of  the  head  and  is  the 
conscious  center  of  the  excitation,  which  is  mani- 
fested by  sensibility  and  movement.  In  other  words, 
a  group  of  nerves  related  to  the  brain,  through  the 
spinal  column,  obeys  the  suggestions  of  the  brain. 
It  no  longer  obeys  when  the  communication  has  been 
cut.  Deprived  of  its  normal  relation,  it  is  thrown 
back  on  its  independence,  the  excitation  which  it 
should  transmit  to  the  brain  stops  with  itself.  But 
if  we  excite,  beyond  it,  the  end  of  the  nerve  still  ad- 
hering to  the  marrow,  the  brain  receives  the  sensa- 
tion, on  condition  that  the  nerve  in  question  is  in 
the  centripetal  current,  is  a  sensitive  nerve.  And 
the  sensation,  in  this  case,  is  analogous  to  the 
sensation  which,  in  the  same  manner,  would  be  sent 
by  peripheric  contact.  But  if  it  is  a  motive  nerve, 
of  centrifugal  functions,  the  brain  will  receive  no 
impression.  We  may  then  act  on  the  part  detached 
from  the  trunk  and  immediately  the  whole  nervous 
mass  will  respond  as  a  sensitive  animal.  The  con- 
sciousness of  touch  is  in  the  nerve,  which  perceives 
by  itself  and  which  manifests  itself  by  movement. 

This  then,  is  the  manifestation  of  the  soul  in  the 
secondary  centers.  The  absence  of  reaction,  how- 
ever, is  not  a  proof  of  insensibility.  The  will  has  a 
power  of  inhibition  upon  the  nervous  centers,  without 


180       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

which  it  would  be  impossible  to  coordinate  our  move- 
ments. This  power  no  longer  exists  from  the 
moment  that  the  nerve  is  deprived  of  its  normal 
connection  with  the  brain.  Here  I  quote  from  the 
text  of  Mathias  Duval:1 

"An  animal  in  its  physiological  state  may  experi- 
ence an  intense  excitation  without  making  the 
slightest  movement.  After  the  cutting  of  the  spine, 
the  slightest  touch  to  that  part  of  the  body  which 
has  been  deprived  of  nerves  by  the  posterior  seg- 
ment of  the  spine,  will  suffice  to  produce  energetic 
movement  in  the  corresponding  members." 

Let  us  recall,  again,  the  intensity  of  the  somnambu- 
listic dream,  analogous  to  the  intensity  of  these 
physical  movements,  of  a  member  detached  from  its 
principal  center.  In  both  cases  this  must  result  from 
a  similar  cause,  the  absence  of  a  restraining  power. 
This  power,  which  is  called  the  faculty  of  inhibi- 
tion and  which  seeems  inexplicable  to  the  physiolo- 
gists, because  it  does  not  answer  to  any  of  the 
theories  of  vital  chemistry,  is  explained  very  easily 
by  the  animic  theory,  which  accepts  the  idea  of  a 
psychic  force  and  a  will.  A  cell  may,  indeed,  re- 
ceive the  suggestion  to  remain  impassive  under  ex- 
citation. Mucius  Scevola  held  his  hand  motionless 
over  the  brazier,  an  act  made  possible  by  that  psychic 
force  which  dominates  our  organs  the  motive  souls 
execute  only  those  of  our  suggestions  which  they 
fully  understand.  From  the  moment  a  cell  obeys 
the  idea  of  movement,  it  may  equally  well  obey  the 
idea  of  resistance  to  the  movement.  It  has  been 
proved  that  the  brain  does  not  act  dynamically  upon 
the  organs,  but  that  each  functional  mechanism  has 
within  itself  its  own  will,  and  that  the  psychic  con- 
i  Physiologie,  Mathias  Duval,  p.  70. 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      181 1 

ductor  acts  in  whatsoever  is  left  of  its  organic 
domain,  even  after  the  removal  of  the  brain.  It  is 
a  fact  which  we  cannot  bring  too  strongly  into 
evidence  that,  with  man  himself,  the  cerebral  hemi- 
spheres have  no  other  functions  than  those  of  will 
and  of  perception.  The  wish,  transmitted  tele- 
pathically  to  the  motive  organs,  excites  them;  but 
these,  in  turn,  act  spontaneously,  using  their  own 
dynamic  force.  In  a  word,  physiological  unity,  a 
central  consciousness  merely  sends  a  suggestion  and 
the  organs  act  spontaneously. 

"The  faculties  which  survive,"  says  Flourens, 
"after  the  ablation  of  the  cerebral  lobes  are  those 
on  which  depend  the  functions  of  nutrition  (that  is 
to  say,  digestion,  circulation,  respiration),  of  move- 
ment, locomotion,  and  even  of  sensation."1 

Here  we  must  notice  that  the  sensation  of  a  func- 
tional mechanism  absolutely  escapes  our  observation. 
Flourens  maintains  that  this  faculty  survives — it 
would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  it  persists.  In 
reality  it  exists,  in  a  feeble  degree,  in  the  whole 
isolated  part  of  the  brain.  Flourens  presupposes, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  the  faculties  of  perception 
and  of  memory  are  lost;  this  should  be  understood 
as  meaning  the  central  perception  and  memory,  for 
we  must  accord  a  special  memory  and  volition  to  the 
inferior  association,  isolated  from  its  center. 

When  a  decapitated  frog  acts,  when  its  leg  re- 
sponds by  reactionary  movements  towards  the  ex- 
cited part,  it  is  not  the  principal  will  which  acts, 
but  the  ganglionary  will.  If,  then,  a  movement 
may  produce  itself  after  the  ablation  of  the  cerebral 
lobes,  it  is  true  that  perception  does  not  exist  for 

i  Flourens,  De  la  vie  et  de  V intelligence,  1858,  p.  66. 


182      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

the  frog,  though  the  act  is  felt  somewhere,  and 
willed,  because  the  leg  directs  itself  towards  the 
excited  place;  but  the  cause  of  the  movement  is  a 
divisional  entity,  a  kind  of  inferior  animalcule.  It 
is  a  ganglionary  memory,  which  recognizes  an  ac- 
quired sensation,  to  which  this  local  soul  responds 
automatically.  If  the  chicken  from  which  the  cerebral 
mass  has  been  taken  is  incapable  of  looking  for  its 
food,  a  grain  put  into  its  beak  is  nevertheless  capable 
of  provoking  deglutition.  There  remains,  then,  a 
local  memory  and  perception,  even  a  will;  only  they 
are  no  longer  the  memory,  perception,  and  will  of 
the  chicken,  but  those  of  a  sort  of  monster,  which 
has  descended  to  the  lowest  stage  of  the  vital  scale, 
where  the  bulb  which  subsists  has  become  a  sort 
of  organic  head.  If  there  is  deglutition,  there  is  a 
re-awakening  of  many  acquired  memories ;  and  since 
all  three  have  perceived  something,  sensibility  is  not 
dead,  but  it  appreciates  at  its  true  value  the  sensa- 
tion presented. 

Will  cannot  be  said  to  be  absent  from  such  an 
action,  since  deglutition  is  a  movement  which  has 
to  be  willed  before  it  can  be  executed.  Therefore  it 
must  not  be  said  that  sensation  has  been  separated 
from  volition,  but  simply  that  the  ways  of  com- 
munication between  the  cerebral  soul  and  the  small 
organic  souls  have  been  cut. 

Each  organic  apparatus  has  its  own  life  and  its 
personal  sensations.  Thus  the  visual  apparatus 
may  be  affected  by  objects  and  still  know  nothing 
about  the  intellectual  images  provoked  in  us  by  that 
vision,  since  these  pass  outside  of  it.  The  experi- 
ments of  Flourens  have  demonstrated  that  if  one 
takes  out  the  superior  brain  of  an  animal,  leaving 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      183 

to  it,  however,  all  the  organs  of  the  senses,  the  eye 
would  conserve  its  visual  power,  the  iris  would  be 
mobile  and  could  follow  the  displacements  of  the 
light,  and  the  retina  would  conserve  its  sensitive- 
ness. However,  we  could  not  say  that  there  is  a 
vision  of  the  image,  because  the  visual  representa- 
tion exists  only  in  the  inner  consciousness  of  the 
animal.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we  take  away  the 
tubercule  on  which  the  ocular  mechanism  depends, 
without  touching  the  cerebral  lobe,  the  eye  will  no 
longer  have  movement  or  sensibility.  It  appears, 
then,  that  the  organ,  a  stranger  to  the  psychic 
representations,  possesses  active  and  sensitive  facul- 
ties, as  well  as  perceptions  known  only  to  itself; 
and  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  sustain  the  identity 
of  consciousness  and  functions,  in  view  of  these  ex- 
periments which  show  an  animal,  without  a  brain, 
whose  functions  continue  while  consciousness  no 
longer  exists.  Physiology  is  full  of  mysteries  which 
it  seems  possible  to  clarify  if  we  accord  a  portion 
of  soul  to  each  division  of  physiological  unity.  But 
we  must  not  forget  the  invisible  physiology,  the 
unknown  element,  revealed  in  former  experiments 
and  constituting  the  sensitive  element  which  inter- 
penetrates all  the  organic  machine. 

Matter  in  mind  are  thus  related  by  an  inter- 
mediary state  recently  discovered. 

The  current  of  induction  goes  from  mind  to  matter 
in  passing  through  this  intermediary.  This  process, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  admit,  though  our  education 
has  not  prepared  us  for  it.  But  now  that  certainty 
exists  concerning  an  exterior  action,  effected  with- 
out the  aid  of  organs,  it  seems  impossible  to  avoid 


184       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

the  necessary  deduction  of  the  existence  of  an  in- 
termediary organ. 

All  our  physiology  gives  us  the  proof  of  move- 
ment without  contact.  A  cell  is  without  contact 
with  another  cell,  but  nevertheless  expansions  and 
retractions  are  transmitted  from  one  to  the  other 
and  executed  punctually  under  the  sole  direction 
of  the  will.  Thus  each  cell  is  in  telepathic  relation 
with  its  neighbor;  hence  it  is  necessary  that  they 
should  share  alike  sensibility  and  activity.  In  short, 
every  organic  division  possesses  a  soul,  or  if  we 
prefer,  a  part  of  a  soul.  This  has  been  sufficiently 
established  by  the  polyanimism  of  Durand  de  Gros, 
Every  ganglion,  every  mechanism,  every  organ, 
seems  to  have  a  sensitive  soul,  endowed  with  will. 

The  soul  is  not  extinguished  except  in  the  lowest 
of  the  organic  scale,  at  the  dead  point  of  inert 
matter,  if  it  so  be  that  inertia  may  exist  in  any  part 
of  nature.  Our  organs  are  but  the  material  ex- 
pression of  a  form  of  life  realized  by  our  invisible 
soul. 

Dr.  Durand  de  Gros  felt  the  necessity  of  some- 
thing more  than  has  been  taught  concerning  simply 
physiological  inductions,  and  was  the  first,  I  believe, 
to  have  the  courage  to  put  his  ideas  into  circulation. 

He  understood  that  there  are  no  unconscious  acts, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  conclude  that  the  acts  gen- 
erated by  different  points  of  the  spinal  column  have 
souls  as  motive  powers.  He  recognized,  moreover, 
as  an  indispensable  hypothesis,  that  there  is  a  some- 
thing associated  with  our  physical  nature.  He  felt 
the  necessity  for  introducing  into  our  machine  an 
occult  agent  of  sensation;  he  affirmed  that  cerebral 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      185 

matter  is  a  stranger  to  telepathic  perception  and 
proclaimed  it  without  reticence. 

Why  has  no  one  heeded  these  objurgations  of  a 
learned  philosopher?  It  is  because  his  system  of 
polyanism  makes  too  clear,  things  that  it  were  better 
to  leave  in  darkness !  Charcot  saw  this  light  and 
he  withdrew.  Is  not  scientific  prudence  an  excellent 
excuse  with  which  to  hide  the  soul  wherever  it 
threatens  to  appear?  At  the  present  time  all  the 
embarrassing  facts  of  animism  are  attributed  to 
subconscious  action  of  the  brain,  a  strange  formula, 
since  it  is  contradictory  in  its  terms.  The  poly- 
animistic  system  of  Durand  de  Gros  would  admirably 
explain  our  subconsciousness,  without  doubt,  but  do 
we  ever  know  whither  we  are  tending?  Scientific 
prudence  prefers  to  avoid  the  danger.  If  we  explain 
subconsciousness  by  the  inferior  centers  of  conscious- 
ness, the  matter  becomes  too  clear.  We  could  not 
invoke  unconscious  cerebration  to  explain  many  of 
the  verified  cases  of  advice  and  warnings,  and  useful 
premonitions,  which  cannot  be  attributed  to  lower 
centers  of  consciousness.  In  order  to  do  this  we 
must  presuppose  that  these  inferior  centers  had 
been  put  into  relation  with  an  unknown  magnetizer. 
What  a  horror!  Science  can  not  envisage  such  an 
eventuality.  At  present  subconsciousness  serves  us 
as  the  tart  for  the  filling,  but  on  condition  that  we 
tolerate  the  vagueness  and  the  implications  which 
constitute  the  value  of  the  word  "subconsciousness." 

For  subconsciousness  is  not  the  contrary  of  con- 
sciousness; it  is  simply  that  which  is  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  others.  And  you  see  the  danger.  With 
the  system  of  Durand  de  Gros  we  could  have  an 
intestinal  consciousness  very  useful  for  our  diges- 


186       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

tion;  a  consciousness  of  the  kidneys,  the  liver,  or 
the  lungs,  unconscious  functions  so  far  as  we  are 
concerned,  but  conscious  on  the  part  of  the  agents 
who  maintain  them.  So  far,  so  good,  but  this  leaves 
us  without  defense  against  the  rising  tide  of  phe- 
nomena which  was  so  easily  rejected  in  this  domain 
without  a  proprietor.  When  a  writing  medium  pro- 
duced a  remarkable  message,  it  was  said,  "It  is  sub- 
consciousness."  But  it  was  well  understood  that 
this  consciousness  dwelt  in  unknown  regions.  Can 
we  now  say,  "It  is  the  spleen  of  Miss  X.  that  sends 
her  news  of  her  mother,  imitating  the  signature  of 
an  unknown?"  No,  this  would  be  difficult.  The 
spleen  is  very  necessary,  but  it  is  slightly  lymphatic 
and  conscientiously  keeps  guard  over  the  white 
corpuscles  of  the  blood;  it  never  leaves  these  occu- 
pations to  take  up  the  pen. 

I  know  very  well  that  we  could  easily  find  fault 
here.  In  the  case  at  issue,  we  might  say  that  all 
the  faculties  which  concur  in  normal  writing  act 
unconsciously  in  mechanical  writing.  But  this  is 
absurd,  because  those  faculties  are  purely  motive 
and  know  only  movement  and  do  not  know  the  mean- 
ing of  the  message.  That  is  attributing  much  in- 
deed to  motive  consciousness,  to  believe  it  capable 
of  coordinating  ideas,  imitating  signatures,  or 
speaking  foreign  languages.  A  motive  ganglion 
which  speaks  Greek,  or  which  improvises  a  whole 
system  of  philosophy,  cannot  have  a  very  tranquil 
consciousness. 

This  is  where  these  experiments  lead  us  into  truth. 
They  show  us  that  the  table,  or  the  organs,  are  only 
simple  agents  of  transmission,  and  that  the  motive 
agent  is  frequently  found  in  the  thought  of  a  living 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      187 

person.  Here  is  a  whole  course  of  study,  already 
outlined.  A  movement  is  conscious  when  it  emanates 
from  our  own  thought,  and  subconscious  when  we 
discover  its  origin  in  a  foreign  thought. 

I  do  not  say  an  exterior  thought,  because  our 
motive  centers,  for  example,  are  wills  foreign  to 
ourselves,  and  yet  within  our  organs.  In  daily 
speech  one  constantly  makes  the  mistake  of  speaking 
of  the  body  as  it  were  oneself.  It  is  important  to 
remember  that  the  body  is  only  the  implement  of 
psychic  force  which  constitutes  the  "ego"  on  the 
mental  plane;  the  fact  that  consciousness  is  not  in 
the  instrument  is  already  scientifically  attested,  but 
scientists  do  not  wish  to  acknowledge  it  because  it 
is  difficult  to  take  a  step  backward.  It  is  certain 
that  radio-activity,  in  changing  our  manner  of  see- 
ing, will  drive  materialism  from  its  last  entrench- 
ment; the  atom  is  disappearing  from  the  physical 
plane,  it  is  nothing  more  than  a  creation  like  the 
celestial  nebulae. 

Everything,  then,  comes  from  the  invisible;  there 
is  in  the  invisible  something  almost  immaterial, 
which  condenses,  and  the  being  does  not  act  differ- 
ently from  the  atom.  There  are  psychic  nebulae 
which  precede  the  apparition  of  the  first  organic 
forms,  and  preside  at  their  evolution.  There  is  a 
nebula  which  precedes  the  birth  of  the  child  and 
presides  over  the  development  of  the  foetus  in  the 
womb  of  the  mother.  In  experimenting  with  psychic 
phenomena,  we  see  also  that  a  psychic  nebula  pre- 
cedes the  formation  of  that  which  Mr.  Richet  calls 
the  ectoplasm. 

In  brief,  the  feeble  atom,  which  represents  a  con- 
densation of  formidable  energy,  sums  up  within  itself 


188      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

the  process  of  planetary  formations.  Living  organ- 
isms are  a  condensation  of  the  creative  idea  which 
tends  to  manifest  itself,  and  we  know  that  each 
embryonic  phase  of  the  child  represents  the  succes- 
sion of  animal  forces  in  the  order  in  which  they  have 
appeared  upon  earth.  Here  I  seem  to  see  a  ray 
of  light ;  the  same  biogenetic  law  explains  the  forma- 
tion of  the  body  of  the  child,  the  genesis  of  animal 
species,  the  condensation  of  planets.  The  planet  is 
a  slow  materialization — organized  beings  are  slow 
materializations — the  embryonic  process  is  a  rapid 
materialization. 

The  spiritualistic  materialization,  still  more  rapid, 
is  an  imperfect  creation,  like  physiological  neo- 
plasms, which  appear  sometimes  in  living  bodies,  and 
which  are  like  an  accident  in  nature,  a  plethoric 
superfetation,  subject  to  abortion.  We  shall  say 
nothing  of  the  slow  materialization  of  the  planetary 
nebula,  which  is  an  evident  fact.  Let  us  seek  to 
explain  the  materialization  of  beings  in  accord  with 
ontogenetic  facts. 

We  do  not  have  to  inquire  as  to  what  may  be  the 
psychic  substance.  It  exists,  that  is  enough.  Be 
it  material,  pure  spirit,  or  cosmic  force,  we  leave 
this  discussion  to  the  philosophers  and  are  content 
to  submit  it  to  their  observations.  The  preceding 
observations  oblige  us  to  admit  that  this  is  the  force 
which  creates  organic  movement.  One  working  hypo- 
thesis, then,  shall  be  that  psychic  substance  exists 
before  the  object  which  it  puts  in  movement,  that  is 
to  say,  before  the  organic  formation.  Before  any 
creation,  the  soul  has  been  obliged  to  manifest  itself 
slowly,  in  the  simple  concretion  of  a  primitive  cell. 
The  animic  substance  acting  upon  all  the  planet, 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      189 

has  of  necessity  formed  throughout  the  earth  a 
multitude  of  simple  concretions. 

The  history  of  the  development  of  beings  shows 
us  a  higher  and  higher  consciousness,  succeeding  in 
effecting  its  progress  upon  the  ruins  of  a  multitude 
of  organisms  so  delicate  that  their  existence  was  per- 
petually menaced.  If  the  spring  of  life  had  been  in 
matter,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  any 
progress  to  be  transmissible  from  one  cell  to  the 
others  which  were  destined  to  succeed  it.  Progress 
is  impossible  if  each  individual  ends  in  death. 

On  the  contrary,  the  soul,  changing  only  its  body, 
little  by  little,  and  by  degrees,  is  never  abruptly 
deprived  of  its  organs.1  Life  is  founded  upon  life; 
a  multitude  of  simple  lives  must  have  profited  by 
a  first  experiment  to  associate  themselves  in  an 
organ.  Elementary  souls,  already  rich  in  acquired 
memories,  and  new  aptitudes  came  to  unite  in  better 
organs. 

All  the  forces  which  must  concur  in  future  realiza- 
tions worked  then,  in  the  invisible,  in  materialization 
of  the  organs  most  indispensable  to  the  manifestations 
of  life  on  the  physical  plane.  From  the  molecular 
ancestor  to  the  organic  construction  which  has  made 
possible  the  manifestation  of  the  human  soul,  every- 
thing that  has  ever  lived  in  the  past  survives  in 
the  present  of  human  beings. 

In  order  that  man  might  appear  in  the  world  it 
was  necessary  that  he  be  preceded  by  an  immense 
elaboration  of  organic  life.  The  Darwinian  theory 
of  selection  is  accommodated  easily  to  the  animistic 
theory.  Darwin  explains  the  modifications  of  be- 
ings ;  but  as  to  their  origin,  he  says  not  a  word. 

i  Monadology,  by  Leibnitz,  §  2. 


190       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

So  we  were  saying  that  a  will,  of  the  same  essence 
as  that  which  we  feel  within  ourselves,  has  already 
influenced  the  cellular  organizations  of  atomic  lives. 
From  the  first  hour,  telepathic  action  was  affirmed 
in  the  simple  association  of  several  cells.  Will,  sensi- 
bility, memory  have  all  progressed,  because  they 
have  survived  in  associating  themselves  together.  It 
is  the  persistence  of  animistic  substance  after  death 
which  permits  individuals  of  the  same  species  to  re- 
constitute themselves  into  similar  organs  in  following 
lives.  Animals,  declares  Leibnitz,  do  not  die  abso- 
lutely. 

Arcella  Vulgaris — the  simple  globule  of  the  proto- 
plasm— is  a  being  which  already  communicates  by 
telepathy  in  the  small  sphere  which  obeys  its  sug- 
gestions. It  is  a  materialization  of  the  most  ele- 
mentary order.  Progress  comes  later,  arising  on  the 
ascending  scale  of  species,  and  it  is  thus  that  we  may 
carry  our  origin  back  to  the  monocellular  ancestor. 

But  it  would  be  an  error  to  consider  the  philo- 
genetic  ascension  as  a  filiation  of  individuals,  issuing 
one  from  the  other,  a  kind  of  tree  of  Jesse  ending 
in  man.  The  multitude  of  simple  elements  which 
must  have  been  materialized  from  the  beginning 
would  lead  us  to  think  that  creation  arose  every- 
where at  the  same  time.  At  the  base  of  evolution 
species  were  infinite  in  number;  they  are  infinitely 
reduced  at  the  summit.  From  the  time  that  they 
had  consciousness  of  being,  certain  forms,  evolving 
side  by  side,  elaborated  analogous  organs.  These 
are  always  the  digestive,  respiratory,  visual,  and 
auditory  systems  that  the  entities  have  realized  in 
grouping  round  themselves  billions  of  unities,  similar 
to  themselves,  which,  however,  specialized  in  new 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      191 

functions.  It  follows  that  an  association  goes  back 
to  very  confused  sources,  and  that  it  has  innumer- 
able ancestors  rather  than  a  single  ancestor,  whence 
the  difficulty  in  botany,  as  in  zoology,  of  making  a 
rational  classification. 

The  primitive  species  must  at  different  degrees 
have  realized  analogous  types.  Two  ovula,  similar 
in  origin,  have  been  able  to  give  birth  to  the  crab 
and  the  lobster,  but  we  cannot  say  that  the  crab 
is  an  intermediary  stage  in  the  evolution  of  the 
lobster.  Similar  forms  have  been  able  to  constitute 
themselves  side  by  side,  without  issuing  one  from  the 
other. 

The  same  appetites  have  created  the  same  organs ; 
and  the  identical  needs,  in  response  to  environment, 
realized  the  same  mechanism.  It  was  always,  for 
example,  an  intestine,  a  bony  structure,  or  a 
respiratory  mechanism  of  which  each  one  solved  the 
problem  according  to  its  fashion,  some  by  different 
means,  many  by  identical  means.  Thus  the  same 
ocular  mechanism  is  always  found  in  man  and  the 
animals  which  have  no  relationship  with  him. 

The  fundamental  law  of  Haeckel  is  that  the  plant, 
the  animal,  and  man  have  their  origin  in  a  simple 
cell,  the  same  for  all,  which  increased  by  absorption 
and  propagated  by  dividing  itself  in  2,  4,  8,  16, 
etc.  This  method  of  increase  is  very  far  from  the 
ordinary  popular  idea;  it  obliges  us  to  conceive  a 
plastic  force  acting  on  matter.  It  is  true  that  a 
living  cell  was  the  first  manifestation  of  terrestial 
life,  but  when  Haeckel  tells  us  that  this  is  our  an- 
cestor, he  means  simply  that  the  ovulum  of  a  human 
embryo  is  a  cell  similar  to  the  primitive  cell.  If 
we  go  back  over  the  ascendent  chain  of  human 


192       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

genesis,  we  shall  find  at  the  end  not  an  ancestral 
unity,  but  an  elementary  multiplicity  of  which  man 
has  become  the  summit  and  the  directing  unity.  The 
creation  formed  in  the  womb  of  a  woman  is  but  a 
repetition  of  that  which  has  been  evolved  through- 
out time,  a  preparation  of  animal  forms,  of  which 
the  human  soul  will  come  to  take  possession  by  a 
slow  induction.  When  one  asks  why  man,  if  he 
himself  constructs  his  organs,  has  no  consciousness 
of  them,  we  may  answer :  "Because  the  animal  souls 
do  this  work  without  him  and  that  in  their  successive 
formations  they  have  acted  spontaneously." 

How  may  a  cell  proceed  to  its  multiplication  if 
it  be  not  a  center  of  plastic  force,  acting  upon 
matter?  We  do  not  know  of  any  cause  of  move- 
ment outside  of  this  will  which  is  in  us;  it  is  a  con- 
scious force  which  calls  forth  life.  The  machine 
which  creates  its  own  movement  and  suspends  its 
action  at  the  right  time  differs  essentially  from 
mechanical  processes  which  act  of  necessity.  The 
machine  has  nothing  of  this  spontaneity  which  re- 
tards movement  up  to  the  precise  moment  when  it 
says,  "I  will."  And  let  no  one  speak  to  us  of  a 
process  of  inhibition  like  a  wick  in  a  lamp.  The 
amoeba,  which  is  only  a  semi-liquid  cell,  resists  the 
evaporation  of  solar  action  which  would  dry  up  an 
inert  drop.  Hence  there  is  life  there — that  is  to 
say,  a  will  which  resists — and  we  attest,  once  again, 
that  we  find  in  inferior  organs  the  two  constituent 
elements  of  animic  essence,  sensation  and  effort. 
Effort  tends  to  association  and  organization;  modi- 
fications are  produced  at  random,  by  accidental 
meetings  or  under  the  influence  of  suitable  surround- 
ings. The  simple  being  wishes  to  grow  and  becomes 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      198 

pluricellular.  The  pluricellular  individuals  wish  to 
move,  to  nourish  themselves,  to  know  the  exterior 
world,  and  they  tend  to  the  creation  of  organs. 
Species  are  different  because  each  one  represents  the 
sum  of  the  aggregates  organized  by  it  according 
to  its  appetites.  Agreeable  or  disagreeable  sensations 
are  the  factors  which  determine  the  choice.  Thus 
life  is  an  experimental  test,  and  memory  persisting, 
the  being  progresses. 

Often  repeated  suggestions  become  living  ideas,  in- 
corporated in  the  animic  sphere  as  well  as  in  matter. 
Each  parcel  of  idea  or  feeling  which  passes  under 
the  fire  of  the  will  undergoes  a  process  of  digestion 
which  assimilates  or  rejects  it.  Because  aptitudes 
survive  the  destructions  of  the  organic  cells,  the 
psychic  sphere  always  progresses  in  quality  and  in 
quantity. 

There  are  in  our  organism  millions  of  animalcules 
which  are  the  result  of  distant  existences.  We  reign 
in  this  domain,  which  is  but  the  sum  of  small  living 
souls  which  we  have  engendered  in  the  course  of 
the  centuries.  It  is  in  this  element  that  we  normally 
communicate  by  telepathy. 

The  spiritual  being  had  no  immediate  empire  over 
matter;  it  was  necessary  that  the  spirit  of  man 
should  be  grafted  on  the  soul  of  the  beasts.  That 
is  why  animal  evolution  preceded  the  appearance  of 
man  on  the  earth. 

This  conception  of  the  evolution  and  constitution 
of  the  soul  explains  that  each  image  recalls  itself 
to  the  memory  by  a  simple  appeal,  that  of  telepathy. 
All  our  knowledge  is  incorporated  in  an  animic 
sphere  obeying  our  suggestion. 

The  history  of  the  formation  of  beings  such  of 


194      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

it  as  we  have  been  able  to  reconstruct  from  observa- 
tion, confirms  us  in  the  idea  that  creation  is  pre- 
sented as  a  progressive  materialization,  realized 
around  an  animic  substance,  which  subsists  outside 
the  present  life  and  begins  again  with  the  additional 
experience  so  acquired.  Our  organism  contains  the 
synthesis  of  all  that  has  preceded  us.  Thus  is  ex- 
plained the  fact  that  preformed  man  does  not  exist 
in  the  semen;  the  mothers'  wombs  contains  only  the 
elementary  soul  now  taking  up  again  the  function 
to  which  it  has  grown  accustomed  throughout  thou- 
sands of  centuries.  The  road  traveled  by  the  primi- 
tive cell,  a  road  which  only  the  unfailing  patience  of 
the  centuries  has  allowed  it  to  travel,  to-day  is  cov- 
ered, in  this  new  environment,  the  womb  of  the  mother, 
with  a  rapidity  which  would  savor  of  the  miraculous 
if  it  were  a  question  of  a  new  being.  But  the  identical 
passage  takes  place  to-day  in  a  short  time  because 
we  are  on  a  worn  road,  far  away  from  the  gropings 
of  primitive  evolution.  The  embryo  finds,  in  an 
eminently  favorable  environment,  all  the  elements 
for  its  new  incorporation.  A  being  repeats  its 
journey  without  hesitation,  and  this  is  why  remate- 
rialization  is  infinitely  more  rapid. 

This  interpretation  agrees  with  the  observed  facts 
of  ontogenesis  and  with  the  facts  of  experimental 
psychology.  It  permits  us  to  have  recourse  to  a 
single  process  in  order  to  explain  both  the  appear- 
ance of  life  upon  our  globe  and  of  the  child  in  an 
evolved  world,  while  it  classes  under  the  same  bio- 
genetic  law  the  two  forms  of  evolution  which  seem 

so  unlike. 

*  *  *  * 

All  birth  is  a  ^materialization,  and  the  doctrine 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      195 

of  successive  lives  gives  us  a  satisfactory  solution 
to  all  the  problems.  The  organism  of  a  child,  when 
he  comes  into  the  world,  is  a  mechanism  so  com- 
plicated that  it  could  not  be  the  product  of  a  spon- 
taneous creation.  As  we  have  shown  in  the  preced- 
ing pages,  he  is  the  crowning  of  innumerable  efforts 
and  of  frequent  gropings.  It  is  an  already  organ- 
ized psychic  force  which  presides  at  the  refection  of 
the  organs;  a  multitude  of  tactile,  motive,  visual, 
and  auditory  cells,  trained  in  their  functions  for 
centuries,  are  organized  in  the  foetus  before  the 
presence  of  any  intelligence  is  revealed. 

Even  the  first  incarnation  cannot  be  the  moment 
of  birth.  The  child,  when  he  appears  for  the  first 
time  in  his  terrestial  envelope,  is  visibly  in  possession 
of  organs  with  which  he  has  been  familiar  for  a  long 
time.  It  must  be  supposed  that  an  evolution,  parallel 
to  that  which  was  taking  place  in  matter,  was  pre- 
paring the  psychic  organs  for  future  incarnations. 
The  human  animal  was  already  old  when  the  living 
soul  was  breathed  into  him,  the  induction  of  psychic 
force  into  matter. 

The  first  truly  human  incarnation  must  have  bor- 
rowed the  materials  for  the  new  edifice  from  the 
astral  plane,  and  constituted,  perhaps,  a  new  body 
from  old  organs.  The  visual  mechanism  and  audi- 
tory organs  realized  by  the  animal  species  are  not 
unworthy  of  humanity  and  do  not  differ  from  ours. 
For  my  part,  I  should  like  to  possess  the  sight  of 
a  bird,  the  sense  of  smell  of  a  dog,  and  the  hearing 
of  a  cat.  These  steps  of  physiological  progress  were 
already  realized,  and  the  soul  of  these  organs  was 
already  skilled  in  the  use  of  its  functions  by  the 
practice  of  millions  of  years,  when  the  intelligent 


196       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

Being  gained  control  and  grafted  itself  on  these 
organic  forms. 

It  is  thus  that  humanity  must  first  have  appeared, 
not  in  a  state  of  innocence,  but  in  a  state  of  ignor- 
ance which  could  not  place  it  much  above  the  animal. 
With  time,  spiritual  light  pierced  the  darkness; 
moral  ideas  entered  at  the  same  time  that  laws, 
families,  and  tribes  began  to  be  instituted,  and  cities 
organized:  and  all  this  combined  to  form  countries. 

Now,  men  are  born  in  unequal  conditions  of  evolu- 
tion and  not  one,  perhaps,  comes  to  this  world  for 
the  first  time.  It  is  necessary  that  man  be  born 
again  and  reincarnate  himself  until  his  moral  evolu- 
tion be  attained. 

Consider  the  child  who  is  newly  born.  The  animal 
in  him  is  sufficiently  developed,  so  that  he  has  nothing 
more  to  learn  of  material  life.  He  can  see,  can  hear, 
he  knows  how  to  suckle  the  breast  of  his  mother — 
all  functions  belonging  to  the  animal  kingdom,  from 
which  he  came,  and,  by  consequence,  already  known 
to  him.  But  he  has  painfully  to  acquire  language, 
writing,  and  all  the  intellectual  functions  which  are 
novelties  to  him.  On  this  side,  however,  aptitudes 
are  unequal  and  the  differences  are  enormous,  which, 
from  a  moral  and  intellectual  point  of  view,  separate 
the  individuals  of  our  species.  Between  the  mollusk 
and  the  vertebra  the  physiological  difference  is  great, 
but  it  is  scarcely  as  great  as  the  disproportion  which 
may  appear  between  two  human  beings.  If  we  could 
see  on  the  mental  plane,  we  should  be  surprised  at 
the  great  differences  existing  in  hearts  and  intelli- 
gences which  we  are  wont  to  class  by  families  and 
species:  the  intellectual  and  moral  scale  would  then 
appear  in  all  its  varieties.  There  is  only  one  evolu- 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      197 

tionary  action  which  may  give  a  reason  for  such  dis- 
parity. As  there  has  existed  an  uninterrupted  chain 
in  organic  progress  still  visible  in  the  animal  king- 
dom, there  must  exist  mentalities  of  different  value 
in  the  mental  kingdom  to  which  man  has  attained. 
The  progress,  on  this  plane,  can  be  made  only  by 
means  of  reincarnations.  We  see  that  the  multitude 
of  little  children  who  are  born,  are  only,  from  the 
physical  point  of  view,  little  animals  equally  en- 
dowed; how  then  shall  we  explain  that  their  intel- 
lectual endowment  is  so  different.  Education  is 
powerless  to  change  it;  we  see  gentle  and  intelligent 
children,  by  the  side  of  little  rascals  whose  faces 
already  bear  the  stamp  of  vice  and  bestiality.  These 
latter  show  the  retarded  development  of  inferior 
mentality,  while  the  intelligent  child  has  already  a 
certain  experience  of  moral  life,  has  already  lived. 
This  is  the  only  explanation  which  satisfies  reason 
and  sentiment  at  the  same  time. 

We  have  seen  that  birth  reunites  interrupted  rela- 
tions, that  the  foetus  recapitulates  the  course  of 
preceding  evolutions.  It  is  not  the  child  who  sug- 
gests its  embryonic  form,  it  is  the  embryonic  enti- 
ties, who  by  virtue  of  psychic  affinities,  painfully 
created,  reconstruct — that  is,  re-incarnate — them- 
selves round  the  first  ovulum.  It  is  thus  that  later 
on  the  child  comes  to  be  incarnated,  in  the  recon- 
structed physiological  unity.  There  is  no  precon- 
ceived plan;  there  is  an  order  and  a  succession  of 
forms  previously  learned  and  necessarily  repeated. 
The  visual  soul  cannot  constitute  itself  otherwise 
than  it  has  done  in  the  animal  species,  and  the  same 
may  be  said  of  each  organ. 

To  believe,  on  one  hand,  that  our  faculties  repre- 


198      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

sent  the  sum  of  the  chemical  activities  peculiar  to 
our  substance,  and,  on  the  other,  that  these  faculties 
will  be  manifested  in  the  child  who  is  born  for  the 
first  time,  would  be  the  height  of  absurdity.  To 
create  an  eye  without  having  seen,  to  construct  an 
ear  without  having  heard!  It  would  be  easier  to 
conceive  a  child,  still  within  the  body  of  its  mother 
capable  of  speaking  its  national  tongue.  The  mir- 
acle would  be  no  greater.  When  a  child  comes  into 
the  world,  we  are  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  mystery 
which  prepares  his  way;  but  we  may  presuppose  a 
series  of  inductions:  first,  induction  of  the  mental 
body,  this  latter  inducting  the  ethereal  body,  which 
in  turn,  inducts  matter. 

Differences  in  conditions  and  inequalities  of  birth 
are  thus  justified.  We  need  no  longer  attribute  to 
God  the  spontaneous  creation  of  innocent  souls  sub- 
jected to  such  unequal  tests.  But  it  is,  above  all, 
unreasonable  and  impious  to  suppose  that  this  divine 
creation  subordinates  the  will  of  God  to  the  capri- 
cious union  of  human  beings.  A  philosopher,  Jean 
Reynaud,  annihilates  this  theological  dream  in  the 
following  terms.1 

"Unheard  of  things,  baseness  of  souls,  and  if  I 
dare  say  it,  even  while  rejecting  it,  baseness  of  the 
Creator! 

"It  is  as  if  a  libertine,  outraging  in  wanton  pas- 
sion, by  violation  or  adultery,  all  the  laws  of  Heaven 
and  earth,  should  infamously  signal  to  Him  whose 
eye  is  all-seeing ;  and  as  if  the  All-Powerf ul,  deciding 
to  create,  should  give  life  to  the  unfortunate  soul 
which  must  accompany  the  fruit  of  the  debauch. 
Such  are  the  occasions  for  which  we  oblige  the 
Creator  to  come  forth  from  His  sublime  repose! 

»Jean  fteynaud— !JW«  et  Viel,  1864,  p.  198. 


MATERIALIZATIONS  OF  NATURE      199 

The  most  dishonest  or  disgraceful  passion  finds  in 
Him,  when  it  wishes,  a  faithful  cooperator,  hasten- 
ing to  crown  by  an  infinite  complement  that  which 
had  been  so  wretchedly  prepared  for  Him.  No,  I 
will  never  grant  you  that  the  miracle  of  the  appear- 
ance of  a  new  soul  in  the  universe  could  take  place 
by  a  demand  of  this  kind.  If  that  were  the  truth 
I  should  prefer  to  consider  the  soul,  as  do  the  ma- 
terialists, to  be  a  product  of  the  generation  of  man, 
than  to  make  of  it  a  creation  of  God,  for  impiety 
revolts  me  even  more  than  absurdity.  Here  is  an 
obstacle  that  we  can  never  overcome,  for  all 
theologians  will  run  aground  here.  It  is  a  rock." 

This  is,  indeed,  the  fact.  Is  it  necessary  to  add 
that  the  attribution  of  such  an  act  to  the  Divinity 
would  be  incompatible  with  justice,  reason,  and 
goodness?  God  having  to  create  souls,  He  could 
only  create  them  alike,  give  to  all  the  same  fate. 
Equality  is  found  only  in  the  original  nothingness 
from  which  they  sprang;  it  is  in  evolution  that  the 
differentiation  of  souls  and  intelligences  begins.  God 
would  commit  grave  injustice  in  the  repartition  of 
souls  if,  of  two  souls  having  not  as  yet  lived  and 
therefore  still  innocent,  He  should  project  one,  de- 
prived of  intelligence,  into  a  place  of  misery,  over- 
whelming it  with  moral  and  physical  blemishes,  while 
placing  the  other  in  a  fair  environment,  endowing 
it  with  all  the  gifts  of  heart  and  mind. 

The  hypothesis  that  the  soul  is  contained  in  the 
seed  would  explain  no  more  clearly  how  similar 
bodies  produce  souls  so  different.  This  hypothesis 
is  inspired  by  the  point  of  view  that  conceives  energy 
as  contained  in  matter,  which  is  folly.  A  much  more 
probable  theory  is  that  nature  has  conformed  in  this, 
as  in  everything,  to  the  method  which  she  constant]^ 


200      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

follows,  that  of  slow  evolution.  The  soul  develops 
itself  under  the  influence  of  a  creative  will  by  which 
it  is  vivified.  As  solar  magnetism  attracts  vegeta- 
tion, as  the  earth  tosses  up  its  fountain,  so  the  in- 
dividual feels  a  will  awaken  within  himself  under 
the  influence  of  the  Divine  Sun,  and,  like  a  flower 
on  prepared  soil,  he  germinates  in  the  organic  realm, 
as  soon  as  the  summit  of  evolution  has  been  attained. 

There  is  thus  a  perfect  order  in  a  perfect  justice. 
In  the  beginning,  ignorance,  with  freedom  for  ex- 
perimentation. As  soon  as  the  will  awakens,  the 
being  puts  for  his  first  effort,  which  he  repeats  in 
his  successive  lives.  Free  and  without  experience, 
he  stumbles  at  each  step.  God  is  never  an  accomplice 
to  his  errors.  God's  light  shines  eternally  upon 
consciousness.  He  who  will  not  look  toward  this 
light,  is  liable  to  long  gropings,  and  sooner  or  later, 
will  recognize  his  error. 

In  a  word,  we  have  come  from  nothing,  but  we 
all  have  the  same  course  to  follow,  the  same  obstacles 
to  overcome,  the  same  kingdom  to  attain. 

Man  dies  and  the  child  is  reborn  with  the  burden 
of  his  past,  he  is  the  author  of  his  destiny;  hence 
the  great  inequalities  which  appear  from  the  moment 
of  birth.  But  with  each  step  that  man  takes  toward 
truth,  he  feels  himself  more  secure;  there  is  always 
a  little  more  light,  a  little  more  experience.  He  is 
the  author  of  himself,  the  living  negative  of  his  own 
actions.  The  very  quality  of  the  astral  body  which 
surrounds  him  must  bear  the  stamp  of  his  failure, 
or  manifest  his  greatness.  If  he  generates  hate,  he 
develops  Hell  within  himself,  and  can  never  attain 
Heaven  until  he  completely  understands  the  splendid 
solidarity  which  should  unite  the  human  family. 


CHAPTER  X 
SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS 

"There   are   more    things    in   heaven    and   earth, 

Horatio, 
Than  are  dream'd  of  in  our  philosophy." 

SHAKESPEARE. 

IT  is  indispensable  that  a  distinction  be  made  be- 
tween the  psychic  faculties  with  which  we  may  ex- 
periment, and  the  phenomena  of  the  Beyond,  which 
we  may  observe  only  when  they  are  produced  spon- 
taneously. We  often  confuse  the  two  things.  A 
certain  scholar  who  has  seen  different  subjects  taken 
from  a  hospital  automatically  trace  letters  and 
strokes,  flatters  himself  that  he  has  found  the  key 
to  mechanical  handwriting.  When  he  puts  his  sub- 
ject to  sleep,  transmits  to  him  the  suggestion  to 
write  in  his  dream,  giving  to  this  suggestion  the 
form  of  a  spiritual  communication,  and  then  claims 
to  have  demonstrated  the  great  error  of  the  spirit- 
ualists, he  is,  without  realizing  it,  proving  by  this 
very  experiment,  that  a  person  may  write  under  the 
influence  of  another  person,  and  that  it  is  precisely 
in  this  that  transmission  from  the  Beyond  in  the 
form  of  the  spirit  message  consists. 

It  is  very  true  that  he  has  produced  a  fallacious 
communication,  but  he  would  have  been  able  by  the 
same  procedure  to  have  given  an  authentic  message. 

This  is  why  we  have  given  the  history  of  these 
201 


202      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

phenomena  by  citing  them  at  first  from  the  experi- 
mental side  only,  and  by  showing  that  all  the 
phenomena  wrongly  characterized  as  supernatural 
may  be  produced,  not  at  will,  but  under  such  condi- 
tions as  enable  us  to  determine  their  origin.  It  has 
been  proved  that  they  all  may  have  their  source  in 
the  thought  of  a  living  person. 

Theoretically,  we  have  no  difference  to  make  be- 
tween the  suggestion  that  a  living  person  is  capable 
of  exercising  and  that  which,  by  hypothesis,  could 
be  exercised  by  a  disincarnated  spirit. 

Thus  the  most  rudimentary  manifestation  from 
the  Beyond  is  produced  by  means  of  knocks.  It 
should  not  be  concluded  that  every  medium  whose 
presence  makes  it  possible  to  obtain  these  remark- 
able phenomena,  may  send  you  a  message.  This  is, 
however,  the  first  objection  that  the  skeptics  make; 
they  say:  "I  have  seen  Eusapia  produce  her  knocks. 
There  are  no  spirits  in  that." 

In  truth,  experiment  tends  simply  to  put  beyond 
a  doubt  the  reality  of  a  fact  in  which  we  have 
hitherto  refused  to  believe — a  fact  which  proves  the 
existence  of  a  method  of  physiology  previously  un- 
suspected. These  knocks  which  seem  to  proceed 
from  material  agents  having  all  the  attributes  of 
compactness,  coming  from  invisible  agents  represent 
something  which  is  absolutely  beyond  natural  physics 
and  inexplicable  to  us.  We  have  perhaps  not  noted 
this  sufficiently,  and  the  disdain  which  certain  ex- 
perimental scholars  affect  before  a  fact  which  is  not 
linked  to  any  known  experience  is  not  always  sincere. 
The  old  magnetisers  have  observed  these  facts. 

The  clairvoyant  de  Prevort,  reports  the  Baron 
de  Potet,  without  interference,  knocked  at  the  house 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      203 

of  whoever  she  wished  and  said  that  it  was  not  with 
her  soul,  but  with  her  spirit  and  by  the  medium  of 
the  air  that  she  thus  knocked.  She  asserted  that 
outside  of  the  soul  and  intelligence  there  was  a 
nervous  force,  and  that  this  remains  the  envelope 
of  the  soul  when  the  soul  leaves  the  body.1 

The  great  physicist,  William  Crookes,  who  sub- 
jected all  the  manifestation  of  spirit  matter  to  a 
most  rigorous  examination,  speaks  in  these  terms  of 
raps: 

".  .  .  With  the  full  knowledge  of  the  numerous 
theories  which  have  been  brought  forward,  especially 
in  America,  to  explain  these  sounds,  I  have  tested 
them  in  every  imaginable  manner,  until  it  was  ab- 
solutely impossible  for  me  to  escape  the  conviction 
that  they  were  indeed  real,  and  that  they  were  not 
produced  by  fraud  or  by  mechanical  means." 

An  important  question  claims  our  attention  here. 
Are  these  movements  and  these  noises  governed  by 
an  intelligence?  From  the  beginning  of  my  research, 
I  have  insisted  that  the  power  which  produced  these 
phenomena  was  not  merely  a  blind  force  but  that  an 
intelligence  directed  it,  or  at  least  was  associated 
with  it.  Thus  the  noises  of  which  I  have  just  spoken, 
were  repeated  a  determined  number  of  times;  they 
became  loud  or  soft  at  my  demand;  they  resounded 
in  different  places.  By  a  code  of  certain  fixed  signs 
which  I  had  arranged  in  advance,  the  spirit  answered 
my  questions  and  the  messages  were  given  with  more 
or  less  exactitude. 

i  Baron  de  Potet,  Traitt  complet  du  Magnttitme,  5th  Edi- 
tion, p.  240. 


204       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

The  intelligence  which  governs  these  phenomena 
is  sometimes  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the  medium 
and  oftentimes  in  direct  opposition  to  her  desires. 

When  a  determination  has  been  made  to  perform 
an  act  which  does  not  appear  rational,  I  have  seen 
most  urgent  messages  sent  out  to  cause  the  medium 
to  reconsider. 

This  intelligence  is  sometimes  of  such  a  character 
that  one  is  forced  to  believe  that  it  does  not  emanate 
from  any  of  those  who  are  present.1  Around  these 
real  mediums  who  lend  themselves  to  an  unlimited 
control,  as  did  D.  D.  Home,  Kate  Fox  or  Eusapia 
Paladino,  every  searcher  may,  be  it  by  observation 
or  by  control,  succeed  in  establishing  the  truth  con- 
cerning the  fact  which  to  him  seemed  improbable. 
But  it  is  necessary  to  push  the  investigation  much 
further  in  order  to  attest  that,  if  these  facts  occur 
outside  of  all  intervention  or,  rather,  as  says  the 
clairvoyant  of  Prevort,  if  they  are  produced  by  the 
mind  of  the  medium,  there  are  many  other  cases 
for  which  this  explanation  is  insufficient,  cases  in 
which  the  same  effects  are  produced  even  in  the 
absence  of  any  clairvoyant.  Such  are  those  which 
take  place  spontaneously  and  which  co-incide  always 
with  death. 

The  repetition  of  these  sounds  which  aim  to  at- 
tract attention  and  which  cease  as  soon  as  that  end 
is  attained,  permits  us  to  believe  that  there  is  a 
relation  of  cause  and  effect  between  death  and  the 
audible  manifestation.  This  is  the  more  convincing 
since  so  many  of  these  cases  have  occurred  as  the 
result  of  a  pact  or  particular  promise,  and  the 
manifestation  has  been  received  by  those  interested, 

iNew  Experiments  on  Psychic  Force,  by  William  Crookes. 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      205 

even  before  they  knew  of  the  death  of  the  mani- 
festant. 

Raps  are  an  example  of  the  simplest  and  most 
frequent  manifestation. 

We  shall  not  multiply  the  examples  and  witnesses, 
in  which  literature  abounds.  We  shall  merely  cite  a 
few  as  types,  choosing  preferably  those  which  have 
the  advantage  of  being  related  by  well-known 
persons.1 

DEAR  MASTER  AND  FRIEND: 

It  was  in  1871  I  was  at  the  age  when  one  gathers 
the  little  flowers  of  the  field,  as  you  gather  the  stars 
of  the  infinite;  but  during  this  time  of  passionate 
youth,  I  wrote  an  article  which  earned  for  me  an 
imprisonment  of  several  years.  Everything  comes 
to  him,  who  has  not  learned  to  wait.  I  was  in  the 
prison  of  St.  Peter  at  Marseilles.  There  I  found 
a  certain  Gaston  Cremieux  condemned  to  death.  I 
loved  him  very  much,  because  we  had  had  the  same 
dreams  and  fallen  upon  the  same  hard  reality. 

In  our  prison,  at  the  hour  of  outdoor  exercise, 
it  often  happened  that  we  discussed  the  question  of 
God  and  the  immortal  soul.  One  day,  when  several 
comrades  had  proclaimed  themselves  atheists  and 
materialists  with  a  vehemence  out  of  the  ordinary, 
I  reminded  them,  on  receiving  a  sign  from  Cremieux, 
that  it  was  reprehensible  on  their  part  to  speak  thus 
in  the  presence  of  a  prisoner  condemned  to  death 
who  believed  in  God  and  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul. 

The  condemned  man  said  to  me  smilingly:  "Thank 
you,  my  friend,  when  they  shoot  me,  I  will  give  you 
the  proof  of  that  immortality  by  appearing  to  you 
in  your  cell." 

i  L'lnconnu,  p.  76. 


206      PROOFS  OP  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

On  the  morning  of  the  3rd  of  November,  at  dawn, 
I  was  suddenly  aroused  by  a  series  of  sharp  little 
knocks,  given  on  my  table.  I  turned  around,  the 
sound  ceased,  and  I  went  to  sleep.  A  few  minutes 
later  the  same  noise  recommenced.  I  jumped  from 
my  bed  and  planted  myself  half  awake,  before  the 
table;  the  noise  continued.  This  was  repeated  two 
or  three  times,  always  under  the  same  conditions,  in 
the  same  manner. 

On  awakening  each  morning,  it  was  my  habit  to 
go,  with  the  connivance  of  a  friendly  keeper,  to  the 
cell  of  Gaston  Cremieux.  .  .  .  Alas,  there  were  seals 
on  the  door  and  I  saw,  by  looking  through  the  peep 
hole,  that  the  prisoner  was  no  longer  there.  I  had 
hardly  made  this  discovery  when  the  keeper  threw 
himself  into  my  arms.  "We  shot  him  this  morning 
at  daybreak,  but  he  died  courageously."  This  is 
my  story.  I  am  sending  it  to  you  just  as  it  came 
from  my  pen.  I  was  in  my  normal  state,  I  had  no 
suspicion  of  the  execution  and  I  heard  perfectly  the 
series  of  warnings.  Here  is  the  naked  truth. 

CLOVIS  HUGUES. 

Without  doubt  several  isolated  cases  of  this  sort 
would  not  be  of  great  value,  but  a  multitude  of 
analogous  cases,  and  even  more  complicated  ones, 
always  coinciding  with  death,  do  not  permit  us  to 
doubt  that  we  here  find  ourselves  in  the  presence  of 
some  of  the  greatest  mysteries  of  the  Beyond. 

The  clairvoyant  of  Prevort  said  also,  that  the 
nervous  spirit  may  produce  other  effects.  "Souls," 
she  said,  "may  not  only  speak,  but  are  capable  of 
producing  sounds  such  as  sighs,  rustling  of  silk  or 
rattling  of  paper,  knocks  on  the  wall  and  on  the 
furniture,  sounds  of  sand,  of  pebbles  or  of  the  shuf- 
fling of  shoes  on  the  ground;  they  are  capable  of 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      207 

moving  objects,  be  they  ever  so  heavy,  of  opening 
and  closing  doors." 

"The  nearer  dissolution,"  said  she,  "the  stronger 
and  the  louder  are  the  sounds  that  they  are  capable 
of  making,  by  the  aid  of  air,  or  by  their  nervous 
spirit,  and  in  truth,  we  find  again  all  these  forms 
of  manifestations  in  the  spontaneous  phenomena." 

If  a  disincarnated  spirit  may  arrange  physical 
conditions  which  permit  him  to  knock  on  material 
things,  an  intelligent  being  may  be  able  to  secure 
a  better  effect  than  knocking,  for  instance,  by  sound- 
ing a  note  on  the  piano.  We  have  examples  of  this 
sort.  L'Inconnu,  page  108: 

About  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  my  father,  a  visit- 
ing cousin  and  my  sister,  were  conversing  in  the 
dining-room.  These  three  persons  were  in  the  room 
alone,  when  suddenly  they  heard  the  sound  of  the 
piano  in  the  drawing-room.  Much  perplexed  my 
sister  took  the  lamp,  went  to  the  drawing-room,  saw 
perfectly  the  keys  rising  and  falling,  and  heard 
sounds.1 

She  returned  and  recounted  what  she  had  seen. 
The  others  at  first  laughed  at  her  story,  thinking 
that  a  mouse  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  affair;  but 
as  my  sister  was  possessed  of  excellent  eyesight  and 
was  not  superstitious  in  the  least,  they  thought  it 
very  strange.  Moreover  a  week  later  a  letter  com- 
ing from  New  York,  announced  to  us,  the  death  of 
an  old  uncle  who  lived  in  that  city.  But  more  ex- 
traordinary still,  three  days  after  the  arrival  of 
the  letter,  the  piano  again  began  to  play  and,  as 
on  the  first  occasion,  an  announcement  of  death  came 
to  us  a  week  later,  that  of  my  aunt,  this  time. 

i  M.  Victorien  Sardou  has  reported  to  me  an  analogous  fact. 
Note  by  Flammarion. 


208      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

My  uncle  and  aunt  were  a  devoted  couple,  who 
had  possessed  a  great  attachment  for  each  other, 
for  their  parents,  and  for  the  Juras,  their  place  of 
origin. 

The  piano  never  again  played  by  itself.  The  wit- 
nesses of  this  scene  will  testify  to  you  of  the  matter 
whenever  you  may  wish  it.  We  live  in  the  country 
near  Neufchatel  and  I  assure  you  that  we  are  not 
neurasthenics. 

EDWARD  PARIS, 

Painter, 
Neufchatel,  Switzerland. 

It  should  be  noticed  that  all  these  spontaneous 
facts  which  occur  unexpectedly  to  families,  do  not 
differ  from  the  series  of  effects  produced  by  mediums. 

A  clairvoyant  such  as  Eusapia  may  strike  a  note 
upon  a  piano,  sound  the  chords  of  an  instrument, 
turn  a  key  at  a  distance,  open  and  close  the  door 
of  a  wardrobe,  under  the  best  conditions  of  control, 
but  these  effects  have  only  been  obtained  at  a  short 
distance,  the  dynamic  power  and  the  invisible  organ 
residing  in  the  physical  body  from  which  they  were 
exteriorized.  But  the  complete  exteriorization  on 
the  part  of  a  deceased  man  makes  his  field  of  action 
unlimited  in  space;  it  seems  however  to  be  limited 
in  time  to  the  few  days  which  follow  death. 

I  acknowledge  that  I  do  not  attach  any  value  to 
the  objection  of  certain  scholars,  who,  having  ex- 
amined the  case  of  Eusapia,  declared  that  there  is 
no  spirit  therein. 

From  the  moment  that  a  physical  effect  is  pro- 
duced, outside  of  a  physical  organism,  we  are  in  the 
presence  of  a  supernatural  manifestation.  Eusapia 
shows  us  a  normal  power  of  the  Beyond,  acting 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      209 

under  conditions  but  little  known.  It  is  she  herself 
who  acts ;  but  it  is  understood  that  a  being  from  the 
other  world  produces  the  phenomenon  when  there 
is  no  longer  a  medium  here  to  whom  we  may  at- 
tribute it. 

This  is  exactly  the  case  with  manifestation  after 
death.  It  is  said  that  in  these  special  cases  the 
witnesses  of  the  manifestations  served  as  mediums; 
perhaps — in  a  certain  measure,  but  it  cannot  be  ex- 
plained why  these  chance  mediums  can  act  outside 
of  the  zone  where  other  mediums  work;  why  they 
are  not  limited  to  the  field  of  action  immediately 
surrounding  the  organism  in  space;  and  why  the 
exception  occurs  only  when  the  phenomena  is  unex- 
pected and  coincides  with  death. 

The  proof  of  identity  is  often  strengthened  by  the 
fact  that  the  raps  recall  certain  marked  character- 
istics of  the  deceased,  whether  because  of  a  rhythm 
or  because  they  are  heard  in  a  place  to  which  he  was 
accustomed  during  his  life,  or  better  still,  because 
there  has  been  an  understanding  in  advance. 

Finally,  the  mediums  have  also  the  faculty  of  dis- 
placing objects,  of  opening  or  shutting  doors,  of 
drawing  bolts.  We  find  many  of  these  performances 
in  spontaneous  manifestations,  always  in  concord- 
ance with  a  death,  or  with  the  dying  moments,  the 
sick  person  at  that  time  being  conscious  of  mani- 
festing himself  at  a  distance. 

The  clairvoyancy  of  the  dying  is  instructive.  It 
reveals  to  us  that  they  are  the  undoubted  agents 
of  the  phenomenon  whose  effect  greatly  exceeds  the 
action  which  a  medium  could  produce  only  at  a  short 
distance. 


210      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

We  could  discuss  this  subject  at  greater  length, 
for  we  have  many  examples,  but  our  space  is  limited. 

Let  us  remember  only  that  there  is  a  distinction 
to  be  made  concerning  a  phenomenon  produced  by 
an  entity  from  the  other  world.  The  raps  and  move- 
ments of  objects  manifest  themselves  in  a  distinctive 
manner,  according  to  the  cases,  and  the  distinction 
is  the  one  we  have  made  on  the  subject  of  telepathic 
transmissions. 

A  simple  animistic  power  coming  from  a  medium 
will  produce  phenomena  that  may  be  repeated  at 
will,  or  almost  so;  a  foreign  intervention  may  occur 
merely  by  accident. 

We  do  not  generally  understand  the  role  of  the 
double  in  manifestations,  we  do  not  take  into  ac- 
count its  existence  as  if  its  reality  were  not  proven; 
but,  not  only  is  the  idea  of  the  double  a  necessary 
hypothesis  to  the  explanation  of  the  majority  of 
facts,  but  it  also  is  manifested  spontaneously.  The 
spontaneous  doubling  of  the  human  body  is  a 
phenomenon  of  great  importance,  for  in  it  is  found 
an  unexpected  confirmation  of  the  possibility  of  ma- 
terialized apparitions.  This  phenomenon  has  been 
observed  under  numerous  circumstances,  and  very 
wrongly  classified  among  visual  hallucinations,  in  as 
much  as  it  has  nothing  in  common  with  telepathy. 
In  truth  it  is  objective.  Upon  certain  occasions 
photography  has  recorded  it  even  when  its  visibility 
had  not  as  yet  attracted  attention,  though  at  other 
times  it  has  been  possible  to  observe  the  double  of 
a  person  by  his  side.  Take,  for  example,  the  case 
of  Mrs.  Stone:1 

1  Telepathic  Hallucinations,  4th  ed.,  p.  278. 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      211 

"I  have  been  seen  three  times  where  I  was  not 
actually  present,1  and  each  time  by  different  persons. 
The  first  time,  it  was  my  sister-in-law  who  saw  me. 
She  was  at  my  bedside  one  night  after  the  birth  of 
my  child.  Looking  at  the  bed  where  I  was  asleep, 
she  saw  me  distinctly  and  saw  also  my  double.  She 
saw  on  one  hand  my  natural  body  and  on  the  other 
my  spiritualized  image.  She  closed  her  eyes  several 
times,  but  on  reopening  them,  continued  to  see  the 
same  apparition.  In  a  short  time  the  vision  dis- 
appeared. She  thought  it  was  a  premonition  of 
death  for  me,  and  she  did  not  speak  of  it  to  me 
until  several  months  later." 

The  presence  of  the  double  is  so  real  that  it  is 
usually  seen  by  all  those  present,  as  in  the  following 


Count  D.  and  the  sentries  claime'd  to  have  seen 
one  night  the  Empress  of  Russia,  seated  on  her 
throne  in  full  court  costume,  while  she  was  asleep. 
The  lady-in-waiting  in  attendance,  also  convinced 
of  the  vision,  went  to  awaken  her.  The  Empress 
herself  came  into  the  throne  room  and  saw  her  own 
image.  She  ordered  a  sentinel  to  make  a  fire  and 
the  image  then  disappeared.  The  Empress  died 
three  months  afterwards. 

But  the  most  clearly  defined  case  is  that  of  Emily 
Sagee,  which  had  a  number  of  witnesses  and  which 
has  become  a  classic.  It  concerns  a  teacher  whose 
double  was  seen  many  times  by  all  the  pupils  of  a 

'The  narrator  means  that  the  image  was  seen  in  one  spot 
while  she  was  nearby  in  another. 

'Quoted  in  Materialized  Apparitions,  by  Gabriel  Delanne, 
Vol.  I,  p.  892. 


£12       PROOFS  OP  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

boarding  school  at  Newelcke  in  Russia.     We  cite 
certain  passages  from  Aksakof : * 

"Among  the  teachers  there  was  a  French  woman, 
Mile.  E.  Sagee,  born  at  Dijon.  A  few  weeks  after 
her  appearance  in  the  house  strange  rumors  began 
to  be  circulated  concerning  her  among  the  pupils. 
When  one  girl  would  say  that  she  saw  her  in  a 
certain  part  of  the  establishment,  another  would 
affirm  that  she  had  met  her  elsewhere  at  the  same 
moment.  But  things  soon  became  complicated  and 
took  on  a  character  which  excluded  all  possibility 
of  imagination  or  mistake.  One  day,  Emilie  Sagee 
was  giving  a  lesson  to  thirteen  pupils,  among  whom 
was  Mile,  de  Gudenstubbe,  and  to  make  her  demon- 
stration clearer  Mile.  Sagee  wrote  the  passage  to 
be  explained,  upon  the  board.  The  pupils  saw  sud- 
denly and  to  their  great  terror,  two  mesdemoiselles 
one  beside  the  other.  They  resembled  each  other 
exactly  and  were  making  the  same  gestures.  Yet 
the  real  person  had  a  piece  of  chalk  in  her  hand  and 
was  writing,  while  her  double  had  none  but  was 
imitating  the  motions  that  the  real  Mile.  Sagee  was 
making  as  she  wrote. 

"From  this  time  on,  there  was  great  excitement  in 
the  school,  so  much  the  more  as  all  the  young  girls, 
without  exception,  had  seen  the  second  form  and 
agreed  perfectly  in  their  description  of  the  phenome- 
non. Shortly  after  this  one  of  the  pupils,  Mile. 
Antoinette  de  Wrangel,  obtained  permission  to  go 
with  several  companions  to  a  party  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. She  was  completing  her  toilet,  when  Mile. 
Sagee  with  her  usual  kindness  and  habitual  willing- 
ness to  assist,  came  to  help  her  button  up  the  back 
of  her  dress.  The  young  girl,  turning,  perceived 
in  the  mirror,  two  Sagees  at  work  upon  her.  She 
1  Animisme  et  Spiritisms,  p.  498. 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      213 

was  so  frightened  at  this  sudden  appearance  that 
she  fainted. 

"Some  months  passed  and  similar  phenomena  con- 
tinued to  occur.  At  dinner,  from  time  to  time,  the 
teacher's  double  was  seen  standing  behind  her  chair 
imitating  her  movements  while  the  real  Mile.  Sagee 
was  eating,  but  the  double  used  neither  knife  nor  fork 
nor  did  she  take  any  food  into  her  hands. 

"Pupils  present  at  the  meals  and  servants  in  at- 
tendance have  attested  the  truth  of  this  phenomenon. 

"Nevertheless  it  did  not  always  happen  that  the 
double  imitated  the  movements  of  the  real  person. 
Sometimes  when  the  latter  would  arise  from  her 
chair,  the  double  would  remain  seated. 

"One  day  all  the  pupils,  to  the  number  of  forty- 
two,  were  assembled  in  the  same  room  busy  with 
embroidery.  It  was  a  large  room  on  the  ground 
floor  of  the  principal  building.  It  had  four  glass 
doors,  which  opened  on  to  a  large  garden  belonging 
to  the  school.  In  the  middle  of  this  room  was  a 
long  table  around  which  the  different  classes  gathered 
for  their  needlework.  That  day  the  young  pupils 
were  all  seated  about  the  table  and  could  see  very 
well  what  was  going  on  in  the  garden.  As  they 
worked  they  saw  Mile.  Sagee  busy  picking  flowers 
not  far  from  the  house;  it  was  one  of  her  favorite 
pastimes. 

"At  the  upper  end  of  the  table  another  teacher  was 
seated  in  a  chair  of  green  morocco.  She  was  in 
charge  of  the  class.  At  a  given  moment  this  lady 
left  the  room  and  the  chair  remained  empty.  But 
only  for  a  short  time,  for  the  young  girls  saw  in 
it,  quite  suddenly,  the  form  of  Mile.  Sagee.  Imme- 
diately they  looked  into  the  garden  and  saw  her 
still  there  picking  flowers,  but  her  movements  were 
slower  now,  like  those  of  a  person  overcome  by  sleep 
or  exhausted  by  fatigue.  They  looked  again  at  the 


S14       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

chair  where  the  double  was  seated,  silent  and  impas- 
sive, but  with  such  an  appearance  of  reality  that  if 
they  had  not  seen  Mile.  Sagee  and  if  that  they  had 
not  known  that  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  have 
entered  the  room  unperceived,  they  would  have  be- 
lieved it  was  she  herself.  But  certain  that  they  were 
not  dealing  with  a  real  person,  and  more  or  less 
accustomed  to  these  strange  manifestations,  two  of 
the  most  venturesome  pupils  approached  the  chair 
and  touching  the  apparition  thought  they  felt  a 
slight  resistance,  such  as  that  occasioned  by  contact 
with  any  light  material  such  as  gauze  or  crepe.  One 
even  dared  to  pass  in  front  of  the  chair  and  to  go 
through  part  of  the  form,  despite  which,  the  appari- 
tion remained  visible  for  a  little  while  longer,  then 
gradually  faded  away.  The  children  observed  at 
that  instant  that  Mile.  Sagee  was  again  gathering 
flowers  with  her  customary  vivacity.  The  forty-two 
pupils  described  this  phenomenon  in  exactly  the  same 


This  proves  that  in  the  state  of  visible  ex- 
teriorization  the  double  has  something  corporeal;  it 
is  the  beginning  of  materialization. 

If  Mile.  Sagee  had  given  herself  up  to  experimen- 
tation an  occult  entity  might  have  manifested  itself 
by  taking  possession  of  her  double  in  order  to 
produce  certain  phenomena  at  a  distance,  and  might 
even  have  modeled  the  double  into  its  own  image  and 
likeness.  The  best  mediums  are  those  who  do  not 
look  for  manifestations,  but  reveal  themselves  spon- 
taneously, and  are  surprised  by  intelligent  opera- 
tions which  they  cannot  attribute  to  themselves. 

The  following  story  of  Victorin  Joncieres  is  taken 
from  a  book  by  Camille  Flammarion :  * 
.    l Lei  Forcet  Naturelles  Inconnuet,  1897. 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      215 

"I  was  leaving  the  exhibition  room  of  our  Con- 
servatory after  having  given  an  examination  to  a 
certain  class  in  piano,  when  I  was  accosted  by  a 
lady  who  asked  my  opinion  in  regard  to  her 
daughter,  as  to  whether  I  thought  that  she  should 
enter  upon  an  artistic  career.  In  the  course  of  a 
rather  long  conversation  in  which  I  promised  to  go 
and  listen  to  the  young  artist,  I  found  that  I  was 
engaged  to  make  a  call  that  very  evening  upon  one 
of  their  friends,  a  high  official  of  the  State,  and 
to  be  present  at  a  spiritualistic  seance.  That  even- 
ing the  master  of  the  house  received  me  with  extreme 
cordiality  and  conducted  me  into  a  large  room  with 
bare  walls.  A  few  people  were  gathered  there, 
among  them  his  wife  and  a  professor  of  Physics  at 
the  Lycee — in  all  about  ten  people.  In  the  middle 
of  the  room  was  an  enormous  table  of  oak  on  which 
were  placed  paper,  a  pencil  and  a  small  harmonica, 
a  bell  and  a  lighted  lamp.  "The  spirit  has  just 
announced  to  me,"  said  he,  "that  he  will  come  at 
10:00  P.M.  We  have  therefore  a  good  hour  ahead 
of  us.  I  shall  profit  by  it  and  read  you  some  of  the 
minutes  of  our  seances  of  the  past  year." 

"He  put  his  watch  on  the  table — it  pointed  to  five 
minutes  after  nine  o'clock — and  covered  it  with  a 
handkerchief.  For  one  hour,  he  read  the  most  un- 
believable tales.  I  was  impatient  however  to  see 
something.  Suddenly  a  violent  cracking  came  from 
the  table.  Mr.  X  took  off  the  handkerchief  which 
covered  the  watch — it  was  exactly  ten  o'clock. 
"Spirits,  are  you  there?"  he  said.  No  one  touched 
the  table  around  which  at  his  recommendation  we 
formed  a  circle  in  which  each  held  the  other  by  the 
hand.  A  louder  rap  sounded.  The  young  niece  put 
her  two  small  fingers  on  the  edge  of  the  table  and 
asked  us  to  imitate  her.  And  this  table  of  enormous 
weight  raised  itself  above  our  heads  in  such  a  mannejc 


216       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

that  we  were  obliged  to  stand  in  order  to  follow  it 
in  its  ascent.  It  balanced  itself  a  few  minutes  in 
space,  then  descended  slowly  to  the  floor  where  it 
settled  without  noise.  Mr.  X  brought  out  next  a 
large  drawing  on  glass.  He  placed  it  upon  the  table 
and  put  beside  it  a  glass  of  water,  a  box  of  colors 
and  a  paint  brush.  He  then  extinguished  the  lamp, 
relighting  it  three  minutes  later.  The  design,  still 
wet,  was  colored  in  two  tones,  in  yellow  and  blue, 
without  a  single  stroke  of  the  brush  having  passed 
beyond  the  traced  lines." 

It  is  certainly  unfortunate  that  mediums  such  as 
these,  often  revealed  in  upper  class  families,  are  ab- 
solutely lost  for  close  study  and  thorough  ob- 
servation. 

A  society  woman  does  not  care  to  subject  herself 
to  systematic  and  disparaging  attacks  of  profes- 
sionals, as  that  class  has  no  other  weapon  save  in- 
sult. It  is  also  very  unfortunate  that  many  persons 
with  weak  powers  of  clairvoyance  and  of  small 
education  have  the  strongest  mania  for  acting  as 
mediums  and  exhibiting  their  powers. 

Especially  in  the  practice  of  automatic  handwrit- 
ing this  passion  rages.  Yet  the  abuse  of  table 
seances  on  account  of  their  extreme  simplicity — be- 
cause everyone  is  able  to  obtain  results — is  also  much 
to  be  regretted.  It  is  because  too  great  haste  is 
made  to  enter  into  conversation  with  the  simple 
animistic  forces  that  so  many  sittings,  badly  di- 
rected, end  only  in  confusion. 

Therefore  once  again  must  the  distinction  be 
made  between  that  which  comes  from  without  and 
that  which  comes  from  within;  between  the  true  and 
the  fraudulent  message. 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      217 

It  is  absolutely  impossible  to  confound  certain 
messages  which  come  from  a  known  source  with  the 
automatic  handwriting  of  a  medium  who  deceives 
himself. 

If  it  is  a  matter  of  raps,  or  of  automatism  of 
the  motive  centers  of  writing  or  speaking,  there  are 
always  three  explanations  to  offer  for  these  phe- 
nomena: 1st,  Automatism  due  to  the  organic  dis- 
orders of  a  medium  whose  organs  are  mechanically 
relaxed;  2nd,  Automatism  caused  by  the  thought 
of  a  distant  agent;  3rd,  Automatism  behind  which 
an  intelligence  reveals  itself,  which  can  be  neither 
that  of  the  medium,  nor  that  of  any  other  living 
person. 

It  is  this  third  case  which  constitutes  the  decisive 
proof  of  the  Beyond.  But  the  second  has  a  decisive 
experimental  value,  since  it  confutes  the  skeptics 
who  would  maintain  against  every  evidence,  that  all 
manifestations  come  from  the  medium.  We  have 
already  cited  the  case  of  Mrs.  Kirby  for  the  table, 
that  of  Sophie  Swoboda  for  writing,  and  the  experi- 
mental counter-proof  that  was  made  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Newnham. 

It  has  been  proved  by  these  cases  that  the  cellular 
activity  of  the  motive  organs  may  be  released  by 
the  thought  of  an  outsider;  that  is  to  say,  the  mus- 
cular agent  is  sensitive  to  telepathic  action,  and  it 
is  through  this  that  the  phenomena  of  the  table,  of 
handwriting  and  of  all  other  automatic  manifesta- 
tions, are  related  to  the  general  phenomenon  which 
produces  these  manifestations.  A  remark  which  may 
surprise  people  who  have  never  reflected  upon  it  is 
that  messages  of  a  high  order,  those  which  are  pre- 
sented under  telepathic  forms  such  as  inspiration, 


218       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

presentiments,  prophetic  visions,  are  necessarily  too 
vague  and  uncertain  to  constitute  a  proof.  The 
popular  phenomena,  however,  which  are  derived  in- 
directly from  inferior  activities,  those  which  manifest 
themselves  under  an  exterior  material  form  such  as 
raps,  automatisms,  etc.,  are  the  only  ones  which 
appear  on  the  physical  plane  in  a  definite  form  and 
confirmed  by  a  certain  degree  of  evidence. 

This  is  why  the  proof  of  survival,  or  simply  the 
proof  of  the  existence  of  supernormal  intelligences 
can  be  obtained  only  in  this  way,  a  way  so  often  ridi- 
culed. This  explains  sufficiently  all  the  difficulties 
and  obscurities  that  one  meets  in  the  practice  of 
psychic  study. 

A  great  number  of  manifestations  reveal  many 
things  which  could  not  be  within  the  knowledge  of 
the  medium  nor  within  the  consciousness  of  any 
person  in  the  gathering.  It  is  therefore  necessary 
to  suppose  that  a  supernormal  intelligence,  an  en- 
tity from  the  Beyond,  a  witness  of  the  revealed  fact, 
has  set  in  motion,  according  to  the  ordinary  process, 
the  automatism  which  operates  the  transmission  of 
the  message.  This  supposed  agent  may  act  more 
or  less  after  the  manner  of  an  unconscious  mirror. 
Example : * 

"Lady  Mabel  Howard  was  particularly  gifted 
in  automatic  handwriting.  One  day  some  friends 
asked  her  if  she  could  designate,  by  the  aid 
of  her  powers  as  a  medium,  the  location  of 
some  stolen  jewels.  Lady  Mabel  took  a  pen  and 
wrote  automatically,  'In  the  river  below  the  bridge 
t  Tebay.'  There  had  been  no  reason  to  suspect 

i  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychic  Research,  Vol.  IX, 
p.  44. 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      219 

this,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  experimenters  was 
limited  to  the  account  of  the  theft  in  various  news- 
papers. It  developed,  however,  that  the  thieves  had 
just  been  arrested  at  Tebay,  but  this  circumstance 
was  utterly  unknown  at  the  time  of  the  communica- 
tion. The  jewels  were  recovered  a  month  later 
under  the  bridge." 

Camille  Flammarion  gives  a  series  of  facts  of  the 
same  class,  communicated  by  Mr.  Castex-Des- 
granges.1  Since  they  are  of  great  interest,  we  sug- 
gest that  the  reader  have  recourse  to  them,  as  we 
are  unable  here  to  quote  fully.  To  these  communi- 
cations which  reveal  things  outside  the  conscious- 
ness of  those  present  it  would  be  well  to  add  those 
which  concern  special  consciousness,  and  which  the 
medium  would  find  it  impossible  to  draw  from  him- 
self. Thus  a  series  of  experiments  conducted  by 
Mr.  J.  P.  Barkas  with  Madame  d'Esperance  as  a 
medium,  shows  us  that  the  motive  agent,  tracing 
automatically,  was  able  to  answer  the  most  difficult 
scientific  questions,  dealing  with  heat,  light,  elec- 
tricity and  magnetism,  etc.2  Even  though  these 
answers  to  difficult  problems  appear  quite  satis- 
factory, it  behooves  us  to  notice  that  the  criticism 
would  be  of  little  value  if  it  failed  to  discuss  the 
intrinsic  worth  of  the  solutions  proposed.  The  in- 
habitants from  the  other  world  are  like  us — beings 
in  the  process  of  evolution;  they  do  not  at  all 
possess  the  infallibility  which  by  hypothesis  is  at- 
tributed to  them  by  the  incredulous.  The  value  of 

1  Les  Forces  Naturelles  Inconnues,  1907,  pp.  513-521. 

2  Consult  the  Accounts  given  in  Psychical  Review,  878  Vol. 
I,  p.  215;  Animism  and  Spiritism,  Aksakof  p.  882.    In  Shadow- 
land.    Mme.  d'Esperance,  p.  138. 


220       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

the  phenomenon  consists  wholly  in  the  fact  that 
an  educated  man  may  converse  with  the  foreign 
entity  on  subjects  concerning  which  the  medium  has 
no  idea  whatsoever. 

It  is  certain,  moreover,  that  we  communicate  with 
a  strange  being  every  time  that  the  medium  carries 
on  a  conversation  in  a  language  of  which  he  knows 
nothing,  for  there  is  no  possible  way  of  considering 
this  fact  as  a  pathological  case.  The  cases  are 
numerous  in  which  testimony  has  been  advanced 
showing  that  a  medium  has  written  or  spoken  in  a 
foreign  tongue. 

The  most  celebrated  case,  one  whose  authenticity 
is  irreproachable,  appeared  in  Spiritual  Tracts,  by 
Judge  Edmunds,  New  York,  1858.  Tract  No.  6, 
Speaking  in  many  Tongues.  "The  judge,"  says 
Aksakof,  "en joyed  during  his  time  considerable 
fame  in  the  United  States  for  the  high  offices  which 
he  filled  with  distinction,  first  as  President  of  the 
Senate,  later  as  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Appeals." 

Judge  Edmunds  who  had  passed  two  years  among 
the  Indians  could  converse  with  his  daughter  in 
several  little  known  dialects.  But  many  other  wit- 
nesses testify  that  his  daughter  gave  communica- 
tion in  the  Indian  language  and  also  in  Spanish, 
French,  Polish  and  Greek.  She  spoke  Italian,  Portu- 
gese, Hungarian,  Latin  and  other  languages. 

We  cite  one  of  the  best  known  episodes,  as  related 
by  Aksakof.1 

"One  evening  when  about  ten  people  were  gath- 
ered at  my  house,  a  certain  Mr.  Green,  an  artist 
of  this  city,  came  accompanied  by  a  man  whom  he 

i  Animitm  and  Spiritism,  ed.  1895,  p.  868. 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      221 

presented  to  us  under  the  name  of  Mr.  Evangelides, 
of  Greece. 

"The  latter  spoke  English  imperfectly  but  ex- 
pressed himself  very  accurately  in  his  native  tongue. 
A  personality  which  addressed  him  in  English  soon 
manifested  itself  and  communicated  to  him  a  large 
number  of  facts,  proving  conclusively  that  the  com- 
municant was  one  of  his  friends  who  had  died  in 
Greece  several  years  before,  but  a  friend  of  whose 
existence  none  of  us  had  ever  heard. 

"From  time  to  time  my  daughter  uttered  a  phrase 
or  a  few  words  in  Greek,  which  suggested  to  Mr. 
Evangelides  to  ask  the  spirit  if  he  himself  could 
speak  Greek.  The  conversation  was  then  continued 
partly  in  Greek  and  partly  in  English  by  my 
daughter,  and  entirely  in  Greek  by  M.  Evangelides. 
My  daughter  did  not  always  understand  what 
Evangelides  said  in  Greek,  but  it  happened  fre- 
quently that  she  understood  what  the  two  were  say- 
ing to  each  other,  though  it  was  in  Greek.  At  times 
the  emotion  of  Mr.  Evangelides  was  so  great  that 
it  attracted  the  attention  of  those  present.  We 
asked  him  the  reason  for  it  but  he  always  evaded 
a  response.  At  the  end  of  the  seance,  however,  he 
volunteered  to  us  that  he  had  never  before  been  a 
witness  of  any  spiritual  manifestations,  and  that  in 
the  course  of  the  conversation  he  had  made  various 
experiments  in  order  to  study  this  species  of  phe- 
nomena. These  experiments  consisted  in  touching 
on  various  subjects  which  my  daughter  could  not 
possibly  know,  and  then  in  changing  the  theme  ab- 
ruptly by  passing  from  every-day  questions  to  ques- 
tions political,  philosophical  or  otherwise. 

"In  answer  to  my  interrogations  he  assured  us 
that  the  spirit  understood  Greek  and  spoke  it  cor- 
rectly." 


222      PROOFS  OP  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  telepathic  sense  gives 
a  medium  an  intuition  of  the  idea  which  passes 
through  the  brain  of  his  interlocutor,  even  though 
he  speaks  in  a  foreign  tongue;  but  this  would  never 
explain  the  automatic  action  considered  in  its  active 
and  unconscious  form  which,  in  space,  is  a  motive 
suggestion  exercised  upon  the  vocal  organs. 

Writing  in  a  foreign  language  by  a  medium  is 
another  motive  action  which  proves  in  an  absolute 
manner  the  intervention  of  an  outside  influence.  The 
natural  explanation  would  be,  that  he  who  speaks 
a  language,  must  have  learned  it,  and  those  who 
reject  this  evidence  invoke  the  exaltation  of  the 
intellect,  or  at  least  the  hypothetical  faculties  of 
the  somnambulistic  consciousness;  they  do  not  per- 
ceive that  they  are  having  recourse  to  the  marvelous 
and  that  they  are  explaining  all  by  a  miracle. 

We  could  cite  many  examples,  but  it  suffices  to 
know  that  these  proofs  exist  and  that  the  motive 
action  coming  from  an  exterior  source  is  capable  of 
affecting  all  the  organs. 

There  are,  moreover,  the  cases  of  visual  hand- 
writing which  must  be  classed  among  the  sensory 
hallucinations  as  visual  images.  Many  mediums  see 
certain  graphic  signs  which  they  implicitly  copy. 
These  are  reminiscent  of  many  of  the  early  experi- 
ments upon  the  transmission  of  thought,  the  process 
of  which  is  slow  and  painful. 

It  would  seem  rational  to  us  to  approach  these 
facts  through  known  examples  of  such  transmission 
among  living  beings.  The  possibility  of  this  has  been 
experimentally  demonstrated  by  Messrs.  Guthrie, 
Rawson,  Schmoll,  Lombroso  and  others. 

A  woman  about  thirty-five  years  old  introduced 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      223 

to  Mr.  Richet  by  Fred.  Myers,  who  did  not  know 
Greek — in  fact,  she  was  quite  ignorant  even  of  the 
alphabet — was  able  to  write  several  pages  in  that 
language,  deciphering  with  difficulty  from  a  text  of 
different  printed  works  of  which  she  seemed  to  have 
only  a  mental  vision.1 

Mr.  Richet  declares  this  fact  inexplicable.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  any  explanation  is  absurd.  "Be- 
cause these  explanations  are  absurd,"  said  he,  "is 
that  a  reason  for  rejecting  the  facts?  It  would 
be  a  grave  error  to  try,  despite  everything,  to  give 
a  rational  explanation  to  all  the  facts  we  do  not 
understand." 

And  without  doubt,  it  seems  to  me,  the  nearness 
of  relationship  which  we  deduct  from  these  cases  is 
a  tentative  move  toward  a  rational  explanation.  I 
do  not  see  that  there  is  any  absurdity  in  calling  a 
cat  a  cat,  and  a  human  spirit  a  human  spirit.  In 
attributing  similar  effects  to  similar  causes  we  do 
not  make  a  distinction  between  an  incarnate  human 
being  and  a  disembodied  human  being.  But  for 
Mr.  Richet  spirit  is  a  convenient  invention.  In  the 
same  manner  he  declares,  as  savages  explain  hail, 
rain,  and  flashes  of  lightning  by  the  actions  of  genii 
or  devils,  we  would  explain  the  incomprehensible 
phenomena  of  the  spirits.  We  see  in  this  interpre- 
tation a  slight  lack  of  coherence.  For  my  part  I 
declare  without  hesitation  that  if  hail,  rain  and 
lightning  seemed  to  me  to  be  spiritual  manifesta- 
tions and  if  I  obtained  a  certain  fixed  result  in 
praying  for  hail  and  rain,  then  indeed,  I  would 

i  A  long  study  upon  this  interesting  case  is  found  in  Annals 
of  Psychic  Science,  June,  1905,  Article  of  Chas.  Richet  entitled 
£  enoglossy. 


224       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

attribute  this  remarkable  effect  to  an  intelligent 
cause.  The  agent  who  gives  these  communications 
does,  in  a  certain  measure,  what  he  is  asked  to  do. 
Often  he  himself  dictates  the  conditions  of  the  at- 
tempted experiment,  indicates  whether  we  should 
take  a  pen  and  seat  ourselves  at  a  table  or  remain 
passive  in  awaiting  a  visual  image,  an  auditory 
image,  or  a  motive  suggestion.  And  yet  the  ob- 
jectors say :  "There  is  nothing  spiritual  in  all  that, 
it  is  merely  an  unknown  force."  That  may  be,  but 
this  force  possesses  all  the  attributes  of  person- 
ality. When  the  agent  who  is  the  first  cause  of  all 
these  phenomena  is  suddenly  forced  to  an  action, 
it  is  often  found  to  be  the  spirit  of  a  living  person 
who  was  capable  of  transmitting  the  image  or  the 
movement.  This  occurs,  apparently,  without  the 
seeming  participation  of  the  human  body,  so  that 
it  is  not  absurd  to  say  that  the  latter  counts  for 
nothing  in  the  transmission  of  the  thought;  that 
this,  in  the  case  of  deceased  persons,  is  due  to  the 
animistic  body,  substantial  and  capable  of  ex- 
teriorization,  which  has  our  endowments.  This  we 
have  shown  by  numbers  of  phenomena  already  cited. 
We  have  then  the  proof  of  an  intervention  from  the 
Beyond  each  time  that  it  becomes  impossible  to 
attribute  to  a  living  being  an  act  which  is  beyond 
the  organic  possibilities  of  the  medium,  or  of  his 
acquired  knowledge.  Moreover,  the  intelligent  agent 
varies  his  methods.  Thus  the  automatic  relaxation 
of  the  motive  centers  of  a  medium  which  could  be 
explained  by  enthusiasm  or  impulse,  cannot  be  ex- 
plained in  the  same  way  if  the  agent  produces  the 
writing  by  movements  which  his  organism  has  never 
produced  before,  as,  for  instance,  is  the  case  with 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      225 

the  board.  We  know  that  there  is  a  manner  of 
spelling  with  a  stationary  board  supplied  with  an 
arrow,  which  some  unknown  influence  forces  to 
journey  towards  different  letters  of  the  alphabet. 
The  arms  go  through  a  new  kind  of  gymnastics  for 
which  they  have  not  been  prepared  by  any  previous 
training.  It  often  happens  that  two  persons  may 
produce  a  phenomenon  which  separately  they  could 
not  attain.  It  is  evident  then  that  if  the  movement 
were  due  to  the  awakening  of  certain  unconscious 
activities,  the  union  of  the  two  pairs  of  hands  would 
only  impede  the  action. 

It  is  just  the  contrary  which  happens  when  this 
association  is  possible;  harmony  shows  itself  spon- 
taneously and  the  phenomenon  occurs  with  a  pre- 
cision which  surprises  all  those  present.  It  even 
happens  that  the  board  supplied  with  a  pencil  may 
write  directly  as  on  the  paper.  The  following  is 
an  example  which  we  find  in  the  works  of  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge.  Two  young  girls  were  writing  with  a  board, 
in  the  presence  of  some  ten  people.  This  board 
would  not  work  with  any  other  combination  except 
that  of  the  two  girls.  These  young  ladies,  who 
were  very  well  educated,  conceived  the  idea  of  ask- 
ing a  spirit  who  maintained  that  he  had  been  first 
in  a  competition  at  the  University,  to  give  them  the 
formula  of  an  equation  which  should  represent  a 
curve  forming  the  outline  of  a  heart,  which  was  the 
shape  of  the  board  of  which  they  were  making  use. 

mi  n     ^  sin  01 

The  answer:   R= 

0 

Oliver  Lodge  says  that  Mr.  Sharpe,  of  Bourne- 
mouth, was  kind  enough  to  trace  an  exact  copy  of 
i  Human  Survival,  by  Sir  Oliver  Lodge. 


226       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

this  curve  and  that  this  figure  was  a  good  repre- 
sentation of  the  ordinary  form  of  a  board.  He 
adds,  "It  is  naturally  more  difficult  to  invent  an 
equation  complying  with  a  given  curve,  which  the 
writing  did  in  this  instance  than  to  trace  a  curve 
when  the  equation  has  already  been  given." 

Another  complication  which,  even  with  allowance 
for  enthusiasm  or  exaltation,  surpasses  the  powers 
of  man,  organic  as  well  as  intellectual,  is  that  pro- 
duced by  several  messages  obtained  simultaneously. 
For  example,  see  in  Aksakof  (p.  381)  what  Dr. 
Wolfe  says  of  the  celebrated  medium  Mansfield,  who 
wrote  with  both  hands  at  once,  and  talked  at  the 
same  time.  Mr.  Crookes,  in  his  Researches  on  the 
Phenomena  of  Spiritualism  (p.  167),  testifies  to  a 
similar  fact: 

"In  my  presence  several  phenomena  were  pro- 
duced at  the  same  tune,  and  the  medium  was  not 
aware  of  all  of  them.  I  saw  Miss  Fox  write  auto- 
matically a  communication  for  one  of  the  spectators, 
while  a  second  communication  on  another  subject 
was  given  to  her  by  a  different  person  by  means  of 
the  alphabet  and  by  raps.  During  this  time  she 
was  talking  with  a  third  person  without  the  slight- 
est embarrassment  upon  a  third  and  quite  different 
subject.  In  order  to  understand  better  to  what 
point  certain  intelligent  occult  influences  may  take 
possession  of  physical  organs  and  vary  their  action, 
even  passing  from  one  person  to  another,  one  must 
know  of  the  curative  effects  which  are  sometimes  pro- 
duced, which  give  every  evidence  of  having  been 
directed  by  spiritual  beings." 

The  following  report  is  borrowed  from  the  work 
of  F.  Myers,  Human  Personality  and  its  Survival 
of  Bodily  Death: 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      227 

Curative  action  exercised  upon  Mrs.  X.: 

"The  author  of  the  report,  says  Myers,  is  a  doctor 
occupying  an  important  scientific  position  in  con- 
tinental Europe;  we  know  of  him  because  we  cor- 
responded with  him  through  a  mutual  friend.  He 
enjoyed  a  European  reputation  as  a  scholar.  He 
has  discussed  the  case  with  his  wife  and  with  Dr.  X, 
and  has  seen  the  account  which  we  are  now  publish- 
ing in  abbreviated  form. 

"We  are  obliged  to  disguise  the  identity  of  Dr.  X 
and  even  to  withhold  the  name  of  his  country,  as 
the  strangeness  of  the  facts  which  we  are  to  relate, 
would  be  regarded  as  absolutely  in  bad  taste  if 
presented  to  his  present  scientific  following.  Dr. 
Z,  who  makes  his  appearance  here  under  the  un- 
certain character  of  a  magnetic  spirit,  is  also  a 
scholar  of  European  fame  and  a  personal  friend  of 
Dr.  X.  Mrs.  X  one  dark  night  sprained  her  right 
foot.  Fifteen  days  after  our  return  to  M.  her 
foot  was  almost  well,  but  shortly  afterward  I  fell 
ill  and  Mrs.  X  became  greatly  fatigued  in  caring 
for  me.  During  the  whole  winter,  Mrs.  X  was 
obliged  to  keep  to  her  room,  her  foot  in  plaster — or 
treated  with  dressings  of  silicate.  Finally  this 
treatment  was  abandoned  and  there  was  a  return  to 
the  simple  bandage  and  the  use  of  crutches.  The 
circulation  of  the  right  foot  caused  an  inflammation 
of  the  tissues  and  we  were  seriously  alarmed.  At 
this  time  several  friends  interested  Mrs.  X  in  certain 
attested  feats  of  spiritism,  of  which  up  to  this  time 
she  had  but  very  vague  ideas.  The  guiding  spirit 
of  a  group  of  which  one  of  my  friends  was  a  member 
proposed  the  spiritual  intervention  of  Dr.  Z.  They 
settled  on  a  day  for  a  visit  of  the  doctor  to  Mrs.  X. 
Mrs.  X  was  informed  of  the  time  set.  Occupied  by 
other  things  we  completely  forgot  the  date  of  the 


228       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

meeting.  But,  on  the  said  day,  April,  1891,  Dr. 
Z  announced  himself  by  raps  on  the  table.  Only  then 
did  we  remember  the  promised  interview.  I  asked 
the  opinion  of  Dr.  Z  on  the  nature  of  the  malady 
of  Mrs  X's  foot  and  the  knocks  answered,  through 

the  medium  of  Mrs. the  word,  'tuberculosis,' 

signifying  that  there  were  tuberculosis  in  the  arti- 
culations. Of  that  in  truth,  there  had  been  some 
symptoms.  A  few  days  later  Dr.  Z  returned  at  our 
request.  He  promised  to  undertake  the  cure  of 
Mrs.  X's  foot,  warning  us  however  that  there  would 
never  be  a  complete  cure,  that  the  invalid  would 
remain  incapable  of  long  walks  and  would  suffer, 
more  or  less  from  this  foot,  whenever  the  weather 
was  damp — a  fact  which  subsequent  events  con- 
firmed. On  the  17th  of  August,  1891,  the  invalid 
felt  for  the  first  time  an  unusual  sensation  accom- 
panied by  a  tingling  in  her  feet  and  a  sense  of 
heaviness  in  the  members  of  her  body,  especially  her 
feet.  This  sensation  rapidly  spread  to  the  rest  of 
her  body,  and  when  it  reached  her  arms  and  hands 
a  rotary  movement  was  visible.  This  phenomenon 
appeared  every  evening  after  dinner  as  soon  as  she 
would  seat  herself  in  her  easy  chair.  This  was  her 
condition  when  the  family  went  to  the  country  of  R. 
At  this  place  the  manifestation  occurred  twice  a 
day,  lasting  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes.  Ordinarily 
the  invalid  would  place  her  two  hands  upon  a  table. 
The  sensation  of  being  magnetized  was  felt  first  in 
her  feet,  in  which  this  rotatory  movement  began, 
and  which  then  would  gradually  pass  to  the  upper 
part  of  the  body.  The  invalid  grew  capable  of 
walking  without  great  difficulty  though  every  volun- 
tary movement  of  her  foot  was  painful.  Yet  when 
this  movement  was  produced  by  occult  powers  she 
did  not  feel  pain.  A  new  phenomenon  developed. 
One  day  Mrs  X  felt  herself  pulled  from  her  chair 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      229 

and  forced  to  stand  upright.  Her  feet  and  her 
entire  body  responded  to  a  series  of  gymnastics, 
whose  movements  were  regular  and  rhythmical,  as 
in  an  artistic  dance.  This  occurred  often  in  the 
succeeding  days,  and  at  the  close  of  each  attack  the 
duration  of  which  was  one  or  two  hours,  the  move- 
ments became  very  violent.  Mrs.  X  had  never  had 
the  simplest  of  gymnastic  exercises,  and  these  move- 
ments would  have  been  exceedingly  painful  and  ex- 
hausting, if  she  had  been  forced  to  do  them  of  her 
own  will.  However,  she  was  neither  fatigued  nor 
out  of  breath  at  the  end  of  each  exercise.  Every- 
thing seemed  to  be  progressing  satisfactorily  and 
Dr.  Z  announced  that  his  care  was  no  longer  in- 
dispensable. But  the  next  day  an  accident  made 
matters  much  worse.  Mrs.  X,  desirous  of  taking 
something  from  her  wardrobe,  mounted  with  great 
precaution  upon  a  low  chair,  the  four  feet  offering 
a  sure,  solid  basis;  just  as  she  was  getting  down, 
the  chair  was  violently  pulled  from  under  her  and 
thrown  some  distance  away.  Mrs.  X  fell  on  her 
weak  foot,  and  all  the  treatment  had  to  begin  again. 
In  a  later  letter,  Dr.  Z  explains  that  according  to 
the  story  of  Mrs.  X  this  movement  seemed  due  to 
an  invisible  force  and  not  to  a  natural  fall  from 
the  chair.  Mrs.  X  was  accustomed  to  bandage  her 
foot  herself  every  day.  One  day  she  was  stupefied 
to  feel  her  arms  seized  by  an  occult  power,  and 
directed  by  a  force  outside  herself.  From  that  day 
on  the  bandages  were  adjusted  according  to  all  the 
rules  of  art  and  with  a  perfection  that  would  have 
done  honor  to  the  most  skillful  surgeon  in  the  world. 
Though  Mrs.  X  was  very  skillful  herself,  she  had 
never  had  the  slightest  opportunity  to  acquire  the 
least  acquaintance  with  surgery,  but  nevertheless  the 
bandages  were  irreproachable  in  their  exactitude 
and  everyone  admired  her  skill.  When  Mrs.  X 


230       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

wished  to  renew  the  bandages  she  put  them  all  rolled 
upon  the  table  within  reach  of  her  hands  and  me- 
chanically her  hand  took  the  bandages,  which 
seemed  to  assist  more  perfectly  the  occult  operator. 

"Mrs.  X  was  accustomed  to  dressing  her  own  hair. 
One  morning  she  laughingly  said,  'A  court  hair 
dresser  ought  to  arrange  my  hair,  my  arms  are 
so  tired.'  Her  hands  immediately  began  to  move 
automatically  without  any  fatigue  to  her  arms, 
which  seemed  sustained,  and  the  result  was  a  coiffure 
so  intricate  and  beautiful  that  it  was  entirely  differ- 
ent from  anything  she  had  habitually  worn.  The 
phenomena  hitherto  cited  have  been  purely  sub- 
jective.1 

"In  those  which  follow, 'however,  there  is  some- 
thing objective.  When  we  are  treated  by  a  cele- 
brated physician,  as  remarkable  as  Dr.  Z,  it  is  but 
natural  that  we  should  wish  to  have  our  friends 
or  neighbors  enjoy  the  same  privilege.  An  official 
in  my  department  had  been  suffering  from  pleurisy 
for  several  years;  he  was  forced  to  remain  in  bed, 
and  suffered  frequently  from  severe  headaches.  He 
consulted  Dr.  Z  who  prescribed  an  internal  treat- 
ment, which  to  my  great  surprise  consisted  in  cer- 
tain little  pills  at  regular  intervals  which  this  dis- 
tinguished surgeon  had  never  been  known  to  use 
during  his  lifetime.  He  also  had  Mrs.  X  use  mes- 
meric gestures  of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes'  duration. 
It  is  remarkable  that  though  these  passes  were  made 
with  great  violence,  Mrs.  X's  hand  never  touched 
the  face  of  the  invalid,  always  remaining  a  milli- 
meter away  from  it.  Of  herself  Mrs.  X  could 
i  We  respect  the  text  of  the  report,  but  we  acknowledge  that 
we  do  not  understand  how  one  can  qualify  as  subjective, 
phenomena  whose  cause  is  visibly  outside  of  the  subject  and 
of  which  the  latter  has  neither  knowledge  nor  direction.  In 
any  case  he  comes  to  a  decision  prematurely  and  designedly 
upon  the  question  under  discussion. 


SPONTANEOUS  MANIFESTATIONS      231 

never  have  been  able  to  direct  her  movements  with 
such  a  degree  of  precision.  Another  time  a  servant 
A,  whose  husband  was  sick  in  a  hospital,  came  to 
see  Mrs.  X  and  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  told  her 
that  she  had  lost  all  hope  of  his  recovery.  Mrs. 
X  asked  Dr.  Z  to  take  him  under  his  care,  which 
he  promised  to  do,  and  added  that  he  would  make 
the  patient  unaware  of  his  presence.  The  next  day 
A,  going  to  the  hospital,  found  her  husband  very 
much  dejected.  'Listen,'  said  he.  'To  my  general 
miserable  state,  there  is  now  an  added  nervous  con- 
dition. I  was  shaken  all  through  the  night,  my 
arms  and  legs  were  constantly  moving  absolutely 
beyond  my  control.'  A  smiled  at  this,  and  told 
her  husband  that  Dr.  Z  had  undertaken  his  cure 
and  that  he  would  soon  be  better.  The  invalid  was 
restored  to  his  normal  state  and  is  very  well,  as 
well  as  is  possible  with  an  incurable  pulmonary  af- 
fection. 

"As  to  Mrs.  X's  foot,  I  have  the  firm  conviction 
that  it  was  cured  by  those  rhythmic  movements  which 
were  imposed  upon  her  by  occult  magnetism. 

"You  ask  me  if  these  agents  belong  to  the  human 
race.  I  answer,  'Yes,'  provisionally,  unless  we  pre- 
fer to  admit  that  beyond  our  world  there  exists 
another  world  which,  differing  from  humanity's 
world,  yet  knows  and  studies  it  as  we  study  nature's 
realms — a  world  in  which  for  amusement,  or  from 
other  motive,  someone  plays  the  role  of  our  departed 
friends." 


I  am  far  from  exhausting  the  series  of  spon- 
taneous facts  which  are  attributed  to  occult  causes. 
I  say  nothing  of  haunted  houses  where,  nevertheless, 
the  whole  series  of  facts  observed  through  mediums 
may  be  spontaneously  produced,  because  I  wished 


232       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

to  limit  myself  to  the  simple  facts  which  tend  to 
prove  the  survival  of  departed  spirits. 

If  I  seem  to  have  made  an  arbitrary  division  in 
treating  as  a  separate  group,  a  series  of  mani- 
festations of  very  different  kinds,  it  is  because  I 
have  felt  that  these  spontaneous  facts,  observed  in 
all  places  and  at  different  times,  attested  by  reliable 
and  intelligent  witnesses,  could  not  but  help  to  con- 
vince those  who  find  it  difficult  to  accept  proof  of 
experimental  seances.  They  are  the  only  facts 
which  are  produced  spontaneously  with  or  without 
a  medium  and  which  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
silence  all  objection. 

For  myself,  I  maintain  that  these  facts  establish 
beyond  the  shade  of  a  doubt  that  there  is  in  us  a 
second  body,  which  is  not  the  soul  but  which  serves 
as  a  substratum  to  a  mysterious  force.  This  William 
Crookes  calls  the  psychic  force.  This  second  body 
and  the  element  of  which  it  is  composed  does  not 
arise  from  what  we  know  as  the  real  physical,  but 
is  capable  of  experimentation.  Finally,  we  have 
stated  empirically  that  this  body  obeys  thought,  is 
capable  of  movement,  and  is  malleable;  that  it  is 
able  to  exteriorize  itself  and  even  to  make  itself 
material.  In  its  normal  state,  this  body  explains 
all  the  manifestations  of  organic  life  and  produces 
no  other  exterior  manifestations ;  but  in  some  con- 
ditions, as  yet  insufficiently  studied,  it  is  easy  to 
assert  that  this  body  is  capable  of  exteriorization, 
and  also  that  influence  of  every  nature  may  act 
upon  it  and  replace  momentarily  the  norntal  in- 
fluence that  we  commonly  call  personal  action. 


CHAPTER  XI 
MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND 

"For  my  part,  I  have  no  doubt  whatsoever  on  the  subject. 
I  have  had  definite  proof  that  the  beings  who  communicate 
with  us  are  really  those  whom  they  declare  themselves  to  be." 
Sia  OLIVER  LODGE, 

Speech,  November  22,  1914. 

WHERE  is  the  Beyond?  It  is  generally  admitted 
by  psychicists  that  the  Beyond  is  not  a  place; 
mental  life  is  not  limited  by  space.  The  Beyond  is 
a  mental  condition  capable  of  crossing  the  present 
known  limit  of  the  relation  of  beings.  Beyond? 
We  are  always  there,  even  at  present.  We  are  there 
in  such  a  manner,  however,  that  from  the  physical 
plane  we  cannot  communicate  with  our  fellow  beings 
without  making  for  ourselves  a  new  material  means 
of  communication. 

In  the  Beyond,  we  do  not  experience  physical 
sensations,  but  we  live  through  thoughts  and  feelings. 

It  follows  that  in  the  present  incorporation,  we 
are  not  in  a  condition  to  communicate.  Between 
you  and  me,  relations  cannot  be  established  except 
by  the  aid  of  a  subterfuge,  which  has  been  created 
by  us  through  the  medium  of  verbal  images  or  words, 
which  moreover  would  have  remained  abstract  rep- 
resentations had  it  not  been  possible  to  clothe  them 
with  a  material  body  for  the  physical  plane. 

These  images  have  taken  on  in  handwriting  a 
233 


234       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

visible  body  which  presents  itself  to  our  visual  facul- 
ties, and  in  the  word  which  addresses  itself,  more 
particularly,  tc  the  auditive  organs.  Thus  sounds 
and  written  signs  are  the  material  symbols  which 
affect  the  material  organs,  and  through  them  reach 
the  intellectual  plane;  and  these  conventional  signs 
give  you  no  absolute  certainty  in  communicating 
with  me  since  with  my  lips  and  with  a  pen,  I  can 
lie  without  your  even  suspecting  it,  because  between 
you  and  me,  no  really  direct  relation  may  exist. 

The  "ego"  sees  into  the  Beyond;  it  exists  inde- 
pendently of  the  physical  body,  just  as  my  thought 
exists  by  itself  independent  of  those  sounds  by  which 
I  express  it  and  of  the  material  characters  which 
I  trace  upon  paper.  We  shall  now  approach  the 
great  question — "Is  there  in  the  Beyond  something 
other  than  ourselves ;  are  there  manifestations  from 
the  Beyond  which  come  from  strange  beings?" 
These  manifestations,  if  they  exist,  are  outside  our- 
selves; they  may  produce  themselves  spontaneously 
and  not  otherwise.  William  Stead,  the  distinguished 
journalist  and  English  spiritist  whose  heroic  death 
occurred  on  the  Titanic,  defined  his  position  in  re- 
lation to  the  Beyond  in  the  Review  of  January  15, 
1909.  He  used  a  comparison  from  the  recent  ap- 
plication of  wireless  telegraphy.  He  compared  the 
tomb  to  the  ocean  before  Columbus  had  discovered 
America;  then,  by  an  ingenious  supposition,  Mr. 
Stead  pictured  the  explorer  and  those  who  followed 
him,  as  incapable  of  navigating  from  the  West  to 
the  East.  No  one  then  would  have  been  able  to 
make  the  return  voyage.  All  Europe  would  there- 
fore have  concluded  the  non-existence  of  another 
continent.  Nevertheless  American  civilization  would 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND    235 

have  progressed  along  with  that  of  the  Old  World. 
European  navigators  would  have  persisted  in  ex- 
ploring and,  one  day,  one  of  them  would  have  ar- 
rived at  a  flourishing  republic  on  the  other  side  of 
the  water.  What  would  he  do  then?  He  would 
hasten  to  use  every  resource  of  modern  science  to 
inform  the  mother  country;  he  would  try,  let  us 
say,  wireless  telegraphy,  at  that  time  quite  imper- 
fect; thus  in  Europe  they  would  have  received  dis- 
torted, obscure,  possibly  incomprehensible  messages. 
After  many  deceptive  messages,  they  would  finally 
be  able  to  decipher  a  somewhat  clearer  one: 

From  Captain  Smith  (South  Sea)  to  the  Lloyds, 
in  London.  "Everybody  alive,  safe  and  sound. 
Discovery  New  World,  filled  with  descendants  of 
Columbus  and  his  companions." 

But  this  message  might  be  accredited  to  any 
European  Marconi  station;  it  would  be  necessary 
that  a  certain  number  of  opinionated,  incredulous 
searchers  after  the  truth  should  undertake  to  follow 
up  this  statement  and  verify  it  by  experiment,  be- 
fore the  people  would  be  convinced  and  admit  the 
possibility  of  a  phenomenon  at  first  seemingly  un- 
believable. But  gradually  better  equipped  receiving 
stations  would  be  established  and  the  solution  of 
practically  the  same  difficulties  which  confront  us 
when  we  try  to  establish  with  actual  certainty  the 
existence  of  another  life  after  death,  would  have 
been  achieved.1 

Our  position  is  well  defined  by  this  comparison. 
The  Beyond  manifests  itself  spontaneously;  if  we 

i  See  the  article  in  full  in  the  Revue  Scientifique  et  Morale 
du  Spiritisme,  March,  1909,  p.  529. 


236       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

reply  with  indifference,  skepticism,  or  ridicule  to  the 
efforts  which  it  makes,  all  effort  will  cease.  The 
difficulty  consists  in  the  preliminary  establishment 
of  a  receiving  station.  We  must  at  least  accept 
this  hypothesis  in  order  that  we  may  have  corre- 
spondence with  the  Beyond;  we  must  pay  attention 
to  the  slightest  indication  of  a  wireless  telegraphy 
which  may  perhaps  be  sent  us  from  beyond  the 
tomb.  And  in  order  to  be  in  condition  to  receive 
these  hypothetical  messages,  we  must  also,  so  far  as 
possible,  perfect  the  receiving  stations.  These  re- 
ceivers are  the  "sensitives";  in  themselves  they  are 
but  useless  aids  to  lucidity.  Even  though  they  ob- 
tain the  most  valuable  communications,  of  which 
they  themselves  are  but  the  simple  narrators,  these 
communications  would  be  worthless  were  they  not 
attested  by  sufficient  witnesses.  The  ideal  receiving 
post  would  be  that  which  could  be  established  with 
a  clairvoyant  who  was  at  the  same  time  sensitive 
to  these  influences  and  capable  of  being  put  in  touch 
with  the  Beyond  in  a  somnambulistic  state.  It 
would  be  necessary,  moreover,  that  this  person  be 
capable  of  great  self-sacrifice,  that  he  or  she  be 
surrounded  by  experimentalists  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  such  phenomena,  well  informed  upon 
the  history  of  physical  science,  not  skeptical  and 
working  under  the  aforesaid  hypothesis.  There 
should  be  a  resident  medium  in  a  locality  where  it 
would  be  possible  to  have  many  witnesses  supplied 
with  pecuniary  resources  and  a  material  organiza- 
tion, making  possible  the  maintenance  of  a  society 
for  study.  This,  the  laws  of  France  render  impos-1 
sible,  for  a  society  may  not  possess  any  localities 
whose  revenue  permits  it  to  supply  funds  for  ex- 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     237 

periments  or  to  be  used  to  contribute  to  the  living 
expenses  of  its  adherents. 

Fortunately,  conditions  are  better  in  England. 
To  her  is  the  honor  and  the  glory  of  having  in- 
stituted a  receiving  station,  where  it  was  possible 
to  obtain  the  first  authentic  message  from  the 
Beyond. 

It  is  great  good  fortune  for  us  that  the  Society 
of  Physical  Research  not  only  claimed  such  men  as 
F.  H.  Myers,  Hodgson  and  Oliver  Lodge,  who  stand 
for  absolute  scientific  guarantee,  but  that  it  found 
in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Piper  an  exceptional  medium 
whose  enthusiasm  and  devotion  is  above  all  praise. 
.  The  case  of  Mrs.  Piper — studied  with  perseverance 
by  these  men  who  accept,  provisionally  and  as 
hypothetical,  the  personalities  of  those  who  pre- 
sented themselves  as  the  spirits  of  deceased  relatives 
— has  given  such  results  that  all  the  consultants 
had  the  sensation  of  the  real  presence  of  the  relatives 
and  their  friends.  All  the  scholars  who  have  fol- 
lowed these  experiments  closely  had  ended  by  ac- 
cepting this  interpretation.  In  trying  to  explain 
the  facts  of  clairvoyancy  by  the  reading  of  thought 
and  by  subconsciousness,  one  attempts  the  impos- 
sible. If  the  sub-consciousness  of  Miss  Smith  has 
created  seven  or  eight  personalities  of  distinct 
characters,  each  one  having  its  own  language,  its 
particular  handwriting,  and  its  characteristic 
orthography,  Mrs.  Piper  could  have  produced 
several  hundreds  of  personalities  equally  intelligent; 
that  is  to  say,  hundreds  of  memories  which  would 
make  no  confusion  among  themselves.  I  cannot, 
for  want  of  space,  dwell  longer  upon  the  obscurities 
of  her  early  attempts.1  They  were  gropings  and 

i  See  the  book  by  Mr.  Sage,  Mrs.  Piper. 


238      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

do  not  affirm  in  the  least  the  value  of  the  results 
since  obtained. 

The  trances  of  Mrs.  Piper  written  by  Mr.  F.  M. 
Myers,1  may  be  divided  into  three  phases: 

1.  When  the  principal  directing  being  was  Dr. 
Phinuit  and  when  he  made  almost  exclusive  use  of 
the  vocal  organs. 

2.  W^hen  the  communications  were  obtained  in  a 
state  of  trance,  principally  through  automatic  writ- 
ing and  under  the  special  surveillance  of  the  being 
known  as  George  Pelham.    Nevertheless,  Dr.  Phinuit 
often  communicated  during  this  period,  1892-1894. 

3.  When    the    direction    belonged   to    Imperator, 
Doctor  Rector,  and  some  others,  and  when  the  com- 
munications  took   place  generally  in  writing,   and 
sometimes  by  word. 

This  last  phase  commenced  in  1897,  it  continues 
to  the  present,  and  promises  to  continue  hereafter. 
After  the  obscurities  and  confusions  of  the  begin- 
ning the  intervention  of  other  spirits  was  a  detri- 
ment to  the  phenomena.  It  seemed  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  guard  against  these  importunities, 
by  a  telephonic  cabinet  directed  from  the  outside. 
Many  mysterious  entities  concentrated  to  overcome 
these  disturbing  influences.  Conditions  were  thus 
better  established,  the  mysterious  correspondents 
could  express  themselves  more  securely  in  influencing 
the  motive  centers  of  the  medium. 

This  agrees  with  many  other  experiments.  It 
often  happens  that  persons  absolutely  ignorant  of 
spiritualism  making  a  test  merely  for  amusement 
see  a  being  who  puts  the  question  to  them,  "Why  are 

i  Human  Personality  and  itf  Survival  of  Bodily  Death,  1908, 
VoL  VII,  p.  257. 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     239 

you  here?"  and  the  answer,  "I  do  not  know,  I  have 
seen  a  light,  I  was  urged  and  I  am  here." 

Thus  spirits  think  in  words,  think  in  writing; 
and  if  no  disturbing  influence  comes  to  destroy  the 
effect,  the  physiological  mechanism  of  a  medium 
would  be  apt  to  reveal  itself  automatically,  under 
this  simple  excitation.  In  the  case  where  two  hands 
write  at  once,  it  is  because  there  is  harmony  between 
the  two  spirits,  though  each  one  thinks  in  a  different 
organ.  Sometimes  there  is  a  struggle,  a  pause,  or 
incoherence  when  a  medium  resists.  This  struggle, 
however,  only  seems  real,  we  find  it  at  the  beginning 
of  all  mediumship ;  but  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Piper 
the  order  was  not  re-established  until  after  the  inter- 
vention of  George  Pelham. 

George  Pelham,  pseudonym,  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  personalities  of  all  those  who  tried  to 
manifest  themselves  through  the  intermediary  of 
Mrs.  Piper.  He  was  a  young  man,  well  brought 
up,  who  had  casually  studied  the  case  of  Mrs.  Piper 
in  company  with  Dr.  Hodgson,  secretary  of  the 
American  Branch  of  the  Society.  He  died,  the  vic- 
tim of  an  accident,  and  several  weeks  after  his  death 
communications  obtained  through  the  mediation  of 
Mrs.  Piper  seemed  to  come  from  him* 

It  was  in  1892  that  Dr.  Phinuit,  an  enigmatic 
entity,  who  up  to  that  time  had  commanded  as  a 
master,  was  chased  from  his  domain,  or  at  least 
forced  to  share  it  with  a  newcomer,  who  established 
his  identity  beyond  a  doubt. 

George  Pelham,  who  had  but  recently  died,  seeme  1 
to  have  kept  intact  his  recollections,  although  in  the 
course  of  the  experiments,  he  declared — "I  am  with- 
drawing from  you  more  each  day."  For  seven  years 


240       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

these  experiments  have  lasted,  for  it  was  four  weeks 
after  George  Pelham  died,  from  an  accident  while 
riding,  that  his  intervention  revealed  the  value  of 
the  communication. 

George  Pelham  was  confronted  with  an  audience 
of  thirty  or  more  old  friends,  his  father,  and  his 
mother.  He  recognized  each  one  and  called  them 
all  by  name,  maintaining  the  same  attitude  that  in 
life  he  was  accustomed  to  observe  towards  them. 
Every  time  a  newcomer  was  presented  to  the  medium 
he  was  introduced  under  a  false  name.  It  was  neces- 
sary therefore,  to  possess  great  credulity  in  order 
to  attribute  this  limitless  power  of  divination  to 
Mrs.  Piper. 

Each  consultant  always  asked  very  intimate  ques- 
tions, even  very  futile  details.  G.  Pelham  was 
always  able  to  give  exact  details,  as  for  example, 
to  indicate  the  special  features  of  a  porch,  a  swing, 
or  a  chicken  coop  of  a  country  house.  And  these 
descriptions  all  conform  to  reality. 

Mr.  Pelham,  the  father,  received  from  the  mouth 
of  the  spirit  all  he  could  have  expected  to  hear  from 
his  living  son. 

The  sixteenth  volume  of  the  Annals  of  the  So- 
ciety is  especially  dedicated  to  the  seances  of  James 
Hyslop,  a  person  of  considerable  importance  in  the 
State  of  New  York. 

Prof.  Hyslop  was  presented  to  Mrs.  Piper  at  a 
most  favorable  time,  that  is,  at  a  time  when  she 
was  evolving,  coming  out  from  that  early  period  of 
obscurity  which  characterized  her  beginning.  His 
introduction  took  place,  like  all  the  others,  later  on 
and  under  the  name  of  Mr.  Smith,  so  as  not  to  give 
the  medium  any  indication  of  the  personality  of  her 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND    241 

visitor.  The  professor  had  taken  the  precaution  to 
mask  himself  in  the  carriage  before  approaching 
Mrs.  Piper's  house.  He  waited  until  she  went  into 
a  trance  before  he  spoke  in  her  presence;  despite 
all  of  these  precautions  the  professor's  father  called 
him  by  name  and  talked  to  him,  giving  proofs  of 
his  identity  and  seeming  to  be  well  acquainted  with 
the  most  intimate  history  of  the  family.  He  gave 
his  son  an  exposition  of  the  religious  doctrines  in 
which  he  had  believed  during  his  life.  "Only  some 
supernormal  power,"  adds  Professor  Hyslop,  "which 
one  accorded  to  the  second  personality  of  Mrs. 
Piper,  could  have  been  able  to  reconstruct  so  per- 
fectly the  moral  personality  of  my  deceased  parents. 
But  to  admit  it,  would  carry  me  too  far  into  the 
improbable.  I  prefer  to  believe  that  it  is  my  parents 
themselves  to  whom  I  have  spoken,  it  is  much 
simpler." 

At  the  last  seance  Prof.  Hyslop  threw  off  his 
intentional  reserve.  He  neglected  the  precautionary 
measures  which  up  to  that  time  he  had  always  taken ; 
he  wished  to  see  if  this  change  of  attitude  would 
influence  the  communicant  as  it  would  affect  a 
friend  in  the  flesh.  "The  result,"  said  Hyslop,  "was 
that  I  conversed  with  my  disincarnated  father  with 
as  much  facility  as  if  I  had  talked  with  my  living 
father  over  the  telephone.  We  understood  one  an- 
other perfectly  by  half  phrases  and  half  words,  as 
in  an  ordinary  conversation."  It  would  seem  really 
true  that  in  the  best  of  these  seances  the  voices  from 
beyond  the  tomb  have  made  themselves  understood, 
and  have  answered  successfully  all  the  required  con- 
ditions. 

Mrs.  Piper  acted  under  the  strange,  intelligent, 


242      PROOFS  OP  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

and  conscious  influence  of  the  intimate  life  of  the 
consultants.  Telepathy  does  not  explain  at  all  this 
conduct  of  intelligent  beings  who  make  themselves 
manifest.  Thus  the  latent  desires  and  memories  of 
the  consultants  are  without  effect  on  the  communica- 
tions; sometimes  even  the  spirits  themselves  make 
those  confusions,  which  only  they  could  cause;  here 
is  an  example.1 

James  Hyslop  evoked  the  memory  of  a  certain 
Mr.  Cooper,  whom  he  wished  to  recall  to  his  father's 
memory.  The  latter  began  to  speak  quite  volubly 
of  Mr.  Cooper  but  not  at  all  in  the  manner,  ex- 
pected by  the  consultant.  The  misunderstanding 
was  later  clarified.  All  that  the  father  had  reported 
was  exact  but  related  to  another  Joseph  Cooper, 
the  sire,  with  whom  the  deceased  had  been  on  very 
intimate  terms,  a  fact  of  which  the  son  was  ignorant. 
The  father  later  remembered  the  one  whom  his  son 
had  evoked,  Samuel  Cooper,  and  quickly  cited  the 
particular  fact  that  they  were  wishing  to  recall  to 
memory.  Reading  of  thoughts  cannot  explain  this 
and  similar  incidents.  All  this  took  place  in  a  con- 
versation, but  Mrs.  Piper  also  wrote  mechanically, 
and  this  method  became  the  usual  medium  of  George 
Pelham.  It  is  on  this  occasion  that  we  may  attest, 
once  more,  the  simultaneous  action  of  motive  agents. 
Thus,  while  Phinuit  spoke  by  word  of  mouth  to  the 
medium,  G.  Pelham  wrote  on  a  totally  different  sub- 
ject, using  her  right  hand,  while  a  third  interlocutor 
could  have,  with  her  left  hand,  answered  a  third 
consultant.  We  have  cited  the  testimony  of  Hyslop 
but  there  are  many  others;  the  reader  who  wishes 
to  consult  the  annals  of  the  Society  can  find  there 
Hodgson's  reports,  of  which  the  following  is  the 
conclusion : 

i  See  these  incidents  in  Mr.  Sage's  Mrs.  Piper,  p.  201. 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     243 

"In  the  first  communications,  G.  Pelham  positively 
undertook  the  task  of  showing  to  the  whole  assembly 
that  he  could  prove  the  continuation  of  his  own 
existence  and  those  of  other  communicants.  This 
was  in  conformity  with  a  promise  he  had  made  to 
me  about  two  years  before  his  death,  saying  that 
if  he  died  before  I  did  and  if  he  still  lived,  he 
would  give  himself  over  entirely  to  establishing  this 
truth.  By  the  persistency  of  his  effort  to  surmount 
all  difficulties  of  communication  in  every  possible 
manner,  by  his  zeal  to  serve  as  introducer  in  a 
seance,  by  the  good  advice  he  gave  to  me  as  an 
experimenter  and  to  the  others  present,  he  has  dis- 
played, as  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge  this  complex 
and  still  obscure  problem,  all  the  order  and  per- 
severance which  characterized  Pelham  in  his  life. 

"To  sum  up,  the  manifestations  of  G.  Pelham  have 
not  been  of  a  changing  or  spasmodic  nature,  they 
were  those  of  a  continued  and  surviving  personality 
remaining  distinctly  himself  during  the  course  o' 
several  years  and  keeping  his  independent  character, 
whether  the  friends  of  G.  Pelham  were  present  or 
not."  x 

Further  on,  Hodgson  concludes: 

"At  present,  I  believe  without  the  slightest  doubt 
that  the  communicants  referred  to  in  the  preceding 
pages  are  indeed  those  of  whom  I  spoke,  the  real 
personalities  that  they  claimed  to  be;  that  they  have 
survived  the  change  that  we  call  death,  and  that 
they  have  directly  communicated  with  us,  these  so- 
called  living  ones,  by  the  intermediary  of  the  organ- 
ism of  Mrs.  Piper,  when  in  a  trance." 

i  Human  Personality  and  its  Survival,  1903,  VoL  II,  p.  248. 


344       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

We  wish  to  make  known,  and  we  cannot  emphasize 
it  too  strongly,  that  these  communications  are  sur- 
rounded by  the  highest  scientific  guarantees.  Hodg- 
son, from  whom  we  quote  these  conclusions,  was  an 
eminent  doctor,  with  the  degree  Ph.D.  and  LL.D. 
While  quite  young  he  had  interested  himself  in 
psychic  studies  with  the  real  aim  of  discovering  their 
fraudulency  and  of  exposing  them.  He  made  a  visit 
to  India  to  prove  the  unreality  of  the  pretended 
phenomena  attributed  to  the  Yoghis  and  to  the 
Fakirs,  in  which  he  succeeded  beyond  the  fraction 
of  a  doubt.  Later,  he  came  to  the  United  States 
thinking  to  achieve  the  same  result  with  Mrs.  Piper. 
But  there  the  discoverer  of  fraud  was  himself  con- 
quered, he  became  an  assiduous  member  of  the  So- 
ciety for  Psychic  Research  and  did  not  hesitate  to 
make  sincere  profession  of  his  faith. 

We  read  in  the  Annals  of  Psychic  Sciences  of  the 
year  1906,  page  64,  that  the  Reverend  Dr.  Minot 
J.  Savage,  who  was  intimately  acquainted  with  Dr. 
Hodgson,  considered  him  one  of  the  most  scrupulous, 
scientific,  and  skeptical  investigators  that  he  had 
ever  known.  He  said  of  him  that  after  having 
fought  against  the  conviction  for  a  number  of  years, 
he  felt  finally  obliged  to  make  known  to  the  whole 
world  that  he  was  forced  by  the  facts  to  believe  that 
those  whom  we  call  dead  are  really  the  living;  that 
we  may  communicate  with  them,  that  he  was  ab- 
solutely certain  of  having  communicated  with  them 
and  with  several  of  their  departed  friends.  He  estab- 
lished thus,  in  an  absolutely  scientific  manner,  the 
identity  of  several  of  the  intelligences  who  were 
manifested  through  Mrs.  Piper. 

It  is  opportune  to  mention  here  the  definite  proof 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     245 

of  identity  Dr.  Minot  Savage  obtained  through  his 
own  son.  This  case,  reported  by  himself,  is  given 
by  Ernest  Bozzano,  Annals  of  Psychic  Research  of 
the  year  1906,  page  534. 

"In  the  course  of  one  of  these  seances  with  Mrs. 
Piper,  a  personality  manifested  itself,  declaring  that 
he  was  my  son.  I  omit  the  description  of  the  in- 
cident, in  order  to  limit  myself  to  the  following 
episode:  At  the  time  of  his  death,  my  son,  occupied, 
with  a  medical  student  and  another  old  friend,  a 
room  on  Joy  Street,  Boston.  Formerly  they  lived 
on  Beacon  Street,  but  he  had  moved  from  there  after 
my  last  visit,  so  I  had  never  entered  his  room  on 
Joy  Street,  had  never  even  heard  him  speak  of  it, 
and  could  have  had  no  idea  of  anything  that  he 
would  say  about  it.  He  said  to  me,  'Papa,'  and  he 
said  it  with  a  real  expression  of  anxiety,  'I  wish  you 
would  go  immediately  into  the  room  that  I  occupied, 
look  into  my  drawer,  and  you  will  find  there  a  pile 
of  loose  papers.  There  are  some  of  them  that  I 
wish  you  would  put  aside,  and  destroy  without  de- 
lay.' Having  said  this,  he  did  not  seem  to  be  satis- 
fied until  I  formally  promised  him  to  do  as  he  wished. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  Mrs.  Piper  was  in  a 
trance  while  her  hand  wrote  this  interview.  She  had 
not  known  my  son  personally,  he  did  not  remember 
ever  having  seen  her.  Moreover  this  allusion  to  the 
loose  papers  that  for  some  unknown  reason  he  de- 
sired so  keenly  should  be  destroyed,  is  of  a  nature 
to  exceed  the  limits  of  all  possible  conjecture,  even 
in  case  Mrs.  Piper  had  have  been  awake.  Though 
I  was  on  very  intimate  terms  with  my  son,  such  a 
Idemand  seemed  to  me  inexplicable;  I  was  at  a  loss 
to  discover  the  reason  for  it,  and  did  not  even  try 
to  do  so.  Nevertheless  I  went  to  the  room  in  which 
he  had  lived.  I  found  the  papers,  and  had  no  sooner 


246      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

begun  to  read  them  than  I  understood  his  reasons 
and  the  great  importance  which  he  attached  to  the 
promise  I  had  made.  He  had  thrown  these  papers 
into  the  drawer  trusting  to  their  safety,  and  I  real- 
ized he  would  not  wish  to  have  them  made  public 
at  any  price.  It  is  surely  not  I  who  would  violate 
his  confidence  by  revealing  their  contents.  I  shall 
limit  myself  to  saying  that  my  son's  anxiety  was 
completely  justified.  Perhaps  someone  wiser  than 
I  will  be  able  to  explain  to  me  how  Mrs.  Piper  could 
know  such  a  secret." 

In  this  narration,  we  find  the  revelation  of  some- 
thing of  a  very  intimate  nature,  evidently  unknown 
to  any  living  person.  Consequently,  telepathy  is 
not  a  sufficient  explanation  and  the  intervention  of 
the  son  of  Minot  Savage  seems  very  certain. 

The  Society  of  Research  is  not  the  only  organiza- 
tion that  has  obtained  like  results,  but  they  possess 
an  abundant  reserve  of  classic  documents  in  which 
one  may  have  faith  because  they  have  always  re- 
jected, after  investigation,  those  narrations  of  sub- 
jects in  which  a  certain  disagreement  of  witnesses 
was  revealed. 

Nevertheless,  outside  of  this  Society,  we  have  a 
rich  documentation  of  facts  surrounded  by  experi- 
mental guarantees.  Thus  the  following  case,  for 
which  a  whole  year  of  research  was  necessary  before 
the  identity  of  the  communicant  was  established. 

It  happened  at  the  office  of  the  commercial  House 
of  Mr.  Fidler  at  Goteborg,  Sweden. 

In  1890  Mme.  d'Esperance  was  writing  a  business 
letter,  when  on  her  letter,  already  begun,  appeared 
the  name  of  Sven  Strbmberg.  As  it  was  a  very 
bungled  letter  Mme.  d'Esperance  laid  the  sheet  aside, 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND    247 

but  in  the  evening  she  mentioned  the  fact  in  her 
daily  report  and  thus  the  copy  of  the  letter,  stuck 
away  in  the  office,  was  later  found  and  served  to 
gratify  to  the  date  April  3,  1890. 

No  one  knew  Sven  Stromberg  and  the  incident 
would  have  remained  unnoticed  if  two  very  prominent 
psychicists  had  not  happened,  two  months  later,  to 
become  cognizant  of  similar  experiences.  These 
gentleman  proposed  to  attempt  several  trials  of 
spiritual  photography.  From  the  first  seance  a  di- 
recting being,  Walter,  intervened  and  said,  "There 
is  a  man  here  named  Stromberg  who  wishes  to  an- 
nounce to  his  family  that  he  is  dead."  Mr.  Fidler 
then  asked  if  he  were  the  same  one  who  had  written 
his  name  upon  a  piece  of  paper  at  his  office.  They 
said  yes,  adding  that  his  family  lived  in  Jemtland, 
but  that  he,  Stromberg,  had  died  in  America,  at 
New  Stockholm. 

Meanwhile,  it  happened  that  Aksakof  and  Bout- 
lerow,  while  preparing  their  photographic  experi- 
ments, made  a  simple  attempt  to  focus  their  photo- 
graphic apparatus  when,  to  her  great  surprise, 
Mme.  d'Esperance  felt  her  hand  touched;  and  as 
soon  as  the  light  of  the  magnesium  flared  up,  a  wit- 
ness declared  that  he  had  seen  a  man  standing  behind 
her.  Walter  then  stated  that  it  was  the  aforesaid 
Stromberg,  who  died  at  New  Stockholm,  March  31st. 
The  plate,  quickly  developed,  confirmed  the  state- 
ment of  the  apparition.  Yet  no  one  knew  Sven 
Stromberg;  and  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  an  ex- 
planation or  some  light  upon  the  matter,  the  photo- 
graph was  sent  to  Jemtland  in  order  to  discover 
if  a  man  having  that  appearance  had  emigrated  to 


248       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

America  in  1886.  On  his  part,  Mr.  Fidler  had 
written  to  Canada  to  the  Swedish  consul. 

The  response  from  Jemtland  was  negative,  as  the 
curate  of  the  parish  of  Stroem,  where  the  photograph 
had  been  sent,  answered  that  he  knew  only  a  certain 
Sven  Ersson,  who  had  married  and  had  gone  to 
America  about  that  period.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  did  not  know  New  Stockholm,  and  for  a  moment 
it  was  decided  to  abandon  the  whole  affair.  But  all 
was  cleared  up  when  news  was  received  from  America. 
Delayed  information  furnished  by  the  consul  to  an- 
other correspondent  of  Mr.  Fidler  established  the 
fact  that  Sven  Ersson,  of  the  parish  of  Stroem  in 
Jemtland,  Sweden,  had  married  Sarah  Kaiser  and 
had  emigrated  to  Canada,  where  he  took  the  name 
of  Stromberg.  He  had  bought  a  strip  of  land  in 
a  county  called  New  Stockholm,  had  three  children 
and  had  died  March  31,  1890.  This  is  the  resume 
of  the  facts  in  their  essential  elements.  It  is  always 
possible  to  invent  a  fantastic  theory  to  explain 
similar  communications  by  the  mystery  of  subcon- 
sciousness,  but  it  is  really  far  easier  to  believe  the 
communicants;  as  Prof.  Hyslop  said,  it  is  simpler. 

As  may  be  seen,  we  have  had  recourse  by  prefer- 
ence, to  the  experiments  where  the  prevailing  condi- 
tions conformed  to  scientific  exigencies,  but  it  is  not 
necessary  to  believe  that  the  representatives  of 
science  alone  are  able  to  register  these  phenomena. 
On  the  contrary,  their  methods  and  skepticism  act 
at  variance  with  the  manifestations,  even  preventing 
them  sometimes  from  appearing.  Successful  mani- 
festations are  obtained  in  the  inner  shrine  of  spirit- 
ualistic seances,  but  the  testimony  of  scholars  is 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     249 

valuable  in  order  to  confirm  whether  the  spiritualists 
have  seen  clearly  and  observed  carefully. 

We  might  fill  a  whole  book,  dwelling  simply  upon 
spiritual  documentation,  for  spirits  as  well  as  our- 
selves are  capable  of  discerning  the  true  and  the 
false.  For  this  ability,  judgment,  an  upright  spirit 
and  a  pure  intention  suffice. 

Are  we  asked  for  proofs  of  identity  which  may 
be  produced  in  a  spiritual  seance?  Read  then,  the 
following  case  which  we  have  borrowed  from  the 
scholarly  study  of  M.  Gabriel  Delanne. 

The  case  of  Abbe  Grimand.1 

On  the  13th  of  January  1899,  twelve  persons  were 
gathered  at  the  house  of  Mr.  David,  Place  Des  Corps 
Saints  (Square  of  Holy  Bodies),  number  9,  at 
Avignon,  for  their  weekly  spiritualistic  seance. 

After  a  moment  of  reflection,  Mme.  Gallas  (in  a 
state  of  trance)  turned  on  her  side  towards  Abbe 
Grimand  and  spoke  to  him  in  the  sign  language  of 
the  deaf-mutes.  The  mimic  speech  was  so  rapid, 
that  the  spirit  was  urged  to  communicate  more 
slowly,  which  he  did.  As  a  precaution,  the  im- 
portance of  which  is  evident,  Abbe  Grimand  an- 
nounced the  letters  as  they  were  transmitted  by  the 
medium.  Since  each  isolated  letter  signified  nothing, 
it  was  impossible,  even  though  we  desired,  to  inter- 
pret the  thought  of  the  spirit.  It  was  only  at  the 
end  of  the  communication,  that  the  medium  under- 
stood, after  the  reading  had  been  made  by  one  of 
the  members  of  the  group,  charged  with  its  transcrip- 
tion. Moreover,  the  medium  had  employed  a  double 
method,  one  which  announced  every  letter  of  a  word 

1  Gabriel  Delanne,  Recherches  sur  la  MMiwnnitt,  Paris,  1902. 


250       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD ' 

so  as  to  indicate  its  orthography — the  only  visible 
form  for  the  eyes — and  another  which  emphasized 
articulation  without  paying  any  attention  to  the 
graphic  form.  This  method  of  which  M.  Fourcade 
is  the  inventor,  is  in  use  only  at  the  institution  for 
deaf  mutes  at  Avignon.  These  details  were  furnished 
by  Abbe  Grimand,  director  and  founder  of  the  estab- 
lishment. The  communication  relating  to  the  great 
philanthropic  work  to  which  Abbe  Grimand  has  de- 
voted himself,  was  signed  brother  Fourcade,  deceased 
at  Caen. 

None  of  the  audience,  with  the  exception  of  the 
venerable  ecclesiastic  had  known  or  could  possibly 
know  the  author  of  this  communication,  or  his 
method;  though  he  had  spent  some  time  at  Avignon 
thirty  years  ago.  The  members  of  the  group 
present  at  this  seance  signed  their  names  to  this 
communication — Toursier,  retired  director  of  the 
Bank  of  France,  Roussel,  Domenach,  David,  Bre- 
mand,  Cannel,  and  their  wives.  To  the  minutes  is 
affixed  the  following  attestation: 

I,  the  undersigned,  Grimand,  priest,  director  and 
founder  of  the  Institution  for  infirmities  of  speech, 
for  deaf  mutes,  for  stammerers,  and  abnormal  chil- 
dren, at  Avignon,  testify  to  the  absolute  accuracy  of 
all  that  is  reported  here  above.  I  owe  it  to  truth  to 
say  that  I  was  far  from  expecting  such  a  manifesta- 
tion, of  which  I  understand  the  great  importance 
from  the  spiritualistic  point  of  view,  of  which  I  am 
a  faithful  and  fervent  adept  and  which  I  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  proclaim  publicly.  Avignon,  April  17,  1899. 
Signed, 

GRIMAND,  Priest. 

We  must  recognize  that  a  communication  obtained 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     251 

by  means  of  conventional  signs  which  the  deceased 
alone  knew  gives  us  the  best  proofs  of  identity  that 
one  could  possibly  wish. 

These  proofs  are  often  made  by  writing.  In  vain 
do  we  say  that  we  must  disdain  these  automatic 
messages;  we  know  that  they  can  be  produced 
through  automatism  and  we  also  know  what  dual 
personalities  are  capable  of.  But  neither  autom- 
atism, nor  second  or  dual  personality,  could  invent 
details  relative  to  a  family,  reveal  things  of  which 
the  deceased  alone  could  be  aware,  nor  write  in  a 
language  that  the  medium  did  not  know.  And  these 
fictitious  creations  could  not  possibly  imitate  the 
writing  of  a  person  whom  we  wished  to  identify. 

We  have  already  seen  a  person  from  the  beyond, 
presented  under  the  name  of  Elvira,  give  proofs  of 
her  purer  and  real  existence  by  producing  in  a  child's 
brain  the  suggestion  of  a  certain  dream.  Here  is 
an  example  of  certain  manifestations  that  the  same 
being  produced  by  writing.  As  before,  it  is  Dr. 
Ermacora  who  gives  the  account.1 

Padua, 

June  17,  1892. 
Case  of  Doctor  Ermacora. 

Miss  Marie  Manzini,  living  here  at  Padua,  has 
been  experimenting  for  several  months  with  auto- 
matic writing.  She  is  habitually  influenced  by  a 
personality  who  announces  herself  under  the  name 
of  Elvira. 

April  21,  1892,  Mile.  Maria  Manzini  received  a 
letter  from  Venice  announcing  that  her  cousin  Maria 

i  Taken  from  the  book  by  F.  Myers,  Human  Personality, 

No.  858. 


252      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

Alzetta  was  seriously  ill  with  consumption.  For 
a  long  time  Mile.  Manzini  had  not  heard  from  this 
relative;  she  merely  knew  that  she  had  remained  a 
widow  without  any  children,  that  she  had  remarried, 
and  now  had  two  children  by  her  second  husband. 
The  evening  of  the  same  day  she  wrote  in  my 
presence  under  the  control  of  Elvira.  She  asked  the 
following  questions : 

"Can  you  tell  me  whether  my  cousin  is  seriously 
ill?" 

A.  After  a  moment's  interval :  "She  has  very  little 
time  to  live,  she  is  leaving  three  lonely  children." 

Q.  "Did  you  know  that  for  the  first  time  when  I 
was  told  of  her  illness?" 

A.  "No,  I  knew  it  for  a  long  time,  but  I  did  not 
wish  to  trouble  Marie"  (the  medium). 

Q.  "In  this  case,  why  were  you  so  long  in  an- 
swering?" 

A.  "I  went  to  see  how  she  was,  to  be  able  to  give 
you  the  precise  details." 

The  next  day  Mile.  Manzini,  writing  to  Venice, 
offered  to  visit  the  invalid.  On  the  24th  she  received 
a  reply  expressing  a  desire  that  she  come  and  saying 
that  the  invalid  was  in  the  hospital.  She  wrote  again 
to  ask  for  the  authorized  visiting  days.  Before  the 
return  of  this  answer,  Mile.  Manzini  wrote  in  my 
presence  (April  28th),  under  the  influence  of  Elvira 
and  we  put  the  following  questions : 

Q.  "How  is  the  invalid  at  Venice?  Do  you  know 
why  the  reply  to  my  letter  has  not  arrived?  Do  you 
know  the  visiting  days  at  the  hospital?" 

A.  "The  condition  of  the  invalid  remains  the  same. 
Not  much  hope.  She  has  undergone  a  serious  opera- 
tion; therein  lies  the  danger.  To-morrow  morning 
Maria  will  receive  a  letter.  Visitors  such  as  she  are 
received  every  day  at  the  hospital." 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     253 

Q.  "Do  you  mean,  like  her,  relatives  of  the  in- 
valid?" 

A.  "No,  but  like  her,  those  that  come  from  a 
distance." 

We  could  not  see  what  connection  there  could  be 
between  an  illness  of  the  lungs  and  a  surgical  opera- 
tion, and  we  questioned  the  medium. 

A.  "She  is  tubercular.  But  the  operation  was 
necessitated  because  of  the  birth  of  her  last  child." 
"In  brief,"  the  doctor  concluded,  "the  automatic  writ- 
ing informed  us  of  facts  entirely  unknown  to  our 
ordinary  consciousness;  in  particular,  the  fact  that 
the  invalid  had  three  children,  and  that  she  had 
undergone  an  operation. 

"We  are  far  from  being  able  to  invoice,  as 
an  explanation  here,  the  aid  of  clairvoyance  or 
telepathy. 

"Indeed,  an  automatic  message  explains  the  mat- 
ter most  simply,  and  this  explanation  seems  to  be 
the  true  one." 

DR.  G. 


We  also  obtain  proofs  of  high  value  in  the  cases 
where  certain  manifestants,  absolutely  unknown  to 
the  persons  present,  reveal  the  circumstances  of  their 
death  and  give  details  which  are  confirmed  by  in- 
vestigation. We  have  already  quoted  the  case  of 
Stromberg.  The  Society  of  Psychical  Studies  at 
Nancy1  has  published  examples  of  this.  They  are 
ordinarily  poor  devils  killed  by  accidents  or  suicide 
who  give  all  necessary  information  for  identification. 
Bozzano  relates  in  the  Annals  of  Psychic  Sciences 
(year  1909,  page  222),  the  case  of  a  young  girl 
dead  from  poison,  a  case  of  such  a  nature  as  to 

i  See  the  Revue  Scientifique  et  Morale  du  Spiritiame,  year 
1907,  Jan.,  Feb.,  March  numbers. 


254       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

convince  the  most  skeptical.  But  on  this  matter 
the  Society  of  Psychical  Research  is  equally  well 
supplied  with  documents;  the  reader  will  find  there 
an  example  of  the  greatest  value — one  whose  worth 
is  recognized  by  all  serious  investigators — in  the 
case  of  Blanche  Abercrombie1  attested  by  Myers. 

We  shall  not  end  this  chapter  without  returning 
to  the  subject  of  phantoms.  In  treating  material- 
izations we  have  seen  the  difficulties  arising  from 
this  problem.  If  the  apparitions  are  difficult  to 
produce,  they  are  even  more  difficult  to  control,  so 
much  so,  that  not  only  are  we  able  to  contest  the 
reality  of  the  ghost,  but  even  to  wonder  if  it  will 
ever  be  possible  to  identify  or  to  prove  its  existence. 

There  are  several  cases  where  the  proof  of  iden- 
tity has  been  obtained.  In  these  the  manifestation 
was  produced  with  enough  intensity  and  returned 
often  enough  to  convince  the  experimenters  that  they 
were  really  in  the  presence  of  an  intelligent  entity, 
having  all  the  appearances  of  the  deceased. 

We  have  first  the  celebrated  case  of  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Livermore,  Estelle;  we  find  the  following  in  the 
work  of  Aksakoif,  upon  the  subject  of  her  written 
communications : 

"There  were  about  a  hundred  messages  received  on 
the  cards  which  Mr.  Livermore  marked  and  brought 
himself.  They  were  all  written,  not  by  the  medium 
(of  whom  Mr.  Livermore  held  the  hands  during  the 
whole  seance),  but  directly  by  the  hand  of  Estelle 
and  sometimes,  even  under  the  eyes  of  Mr.  Liver- 
more,  by  the  spiritual  light  created  ad  hoc,  a  light 
which  permitted  him  to  recognize  undeniably  the 

'See  Proceedings  8.  P.  R.  Vol.  XI,  p.  96  and  continuing, 
or  Human  Personality,  Vol.  II,  p.  231. 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     255 

hand  and  even  the  whole  face  of  the  one  who  wrote. 
The  writing  in  these  communicaions  was  a  perfect 
reproduction  of  the  handwriting  of  the  living  Mrs. 
Livermore. 

"We  find  therein  a  double  proof  of  identity  verified 
not  only  by  the  writing's  being  in  every  way  similar 
to  that  of  the  deceased,  but  also  couched  in  a 
language  unknown  to  the  medium.  The  case  is  ex- 
tremely important  and  presents  to  our  eyes  an  ab- 
solute proof  of  identity."  x 

Another  woman  received  a  similar  proof  from  a 
deceased  friend,  through  the  mediumship  of  Eglin- 
ton.  This  friend  was  an  Austrian,  and  the  cor- 
respondence was  in  English.  Once,  however,  she 
received  a  German  letter  written  in  Gothic  char- 
acters very  beautifully  formed  and  in  a  faultless 
style.  This  German  letter,  Aksakoff  remarked,  pre- 
sents the  same  value  as  the  messages  of  Estelle  writ- 
ten in  French. 

Some  quite  similar  cases  are  met  with  that  are 
supported  by  testimony  not  all  of  which  has  the 
same  value,  but  we  know  enough  to  conclude  that 
the  phenomenon  is  possible  and  that  the  proof  has 
been  made. 

We  have  the  good  fortune  to  possess  a  decisive 
case;  it  is  that  of  a  phantom  appearing  spontane- 
ously in  a  haunted  house,  and  seen  by  a  lady  who 
could  enter  into  communication  with  him  because 
of  her  natural  gifts  of  clairvoyancy.  By  her  as 
intermediary  the  Society  of  Psychical  Research  was 
able  to  undertake  an  investigation  which  leaves  no 
doubt  as  to  the  objective  reality  nor  the  personal 
identity  of  the  apparition.  This  proof  rested  upon 

i  Aksakoff,  Animism  and  Spiritism,  pp.  547-648. 


256       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

the  knowledge  of  terrestial  affairs  on  the  part  of  a 
deceased  spirit. 

Case  of  Mrs.  Claughton. 

The  case  was  investigated  by  F.  W.  H.  Myers, 
who  knew  the  names  of  all  the  persons  implicated 
in  this  intimate  little  story,  and  who  is  willing  to 
attest  the  reality  of  all  the  controlled  facts  As 
it  is  a  question  of  a  rather  recent  affair  and  the 
persons  are  well-known,  the  narrator  has  been 
obliged  to  omit  certain  details.  Here  is  an  abstract 
of  my  notes  taken  from  the  Proceedings.1 

Mrs.  Claughton  is  a  clairvoyant,  of  whom  there 
are  several  in  her  family,  but  she  had  never  tried 
to  develop  her  gifts.  She  was  a  widow,  having  two 
children,  accustomed  to  good  society  and  known  to 
every  one  as  a  vivacious,  intelligent,  and  active 
woman,  too  much  occupied  with  her  own  affairs  to 
concern  herself  with  those  of  others. 

In  1893  she  lived  at  No.  6  Blake  Street,  in  a 
house  belonging  to  Mrs.  Appleby,  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Blackburn,  who  had  died  there  after  three  days  of 
residence.  The  house  was  haunted.  Mrs.  Claughton 
had  been  there  three  days  when  she  saw  a  ghost 
which  she  described  as  answering  to  the  appearance 
of  Mrs.  Blackburn,  who  had  died  in  the  house  and 
who  was  absolutely  unknown  to  Mrs.  Claughton. 
There  are  material  proofs  that  she  twice  saw  this 
ghost,  who  spoke  at  length  about  facts  unknown  to 
Mrs.  Claughton.  Some  facts  were  immediately  veri- 
fied and  were  recognized  as  exact.  The  other  de- 
tails furnished  her  concerned  a  delicate  mission 

i  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  Vol.  XI, 
p.  647. 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     257 

which  Mrs.  Claughton  was  ordered  to  undertake. 
She  was  given  the  description  of  a  village  of  which 
she  had  never  heard  (Myers  designates  the  name  as 
Meresby).  She  was  also  given  the  names  and 
descriptions  of  several  people  whom  she  was  to  visit 
there;  and  the  various  incidents  of  the  journey  she 
was  to  take  were  accurately  foretold. 

Mrs.  Claughton  then  went  to  Meresby,  where  she 
found  everything  conforming  to  the  information 
which  had  been  furnished  her.  She  was  told  that 
she  would  receive  supplementary  instructions,  and 
she  received  them.  She  was  instructed  to  make  cer- 
tain communications  to  the  survivors,  which  she  did ; 
and  if  the  intimate  revelations  could  not  be  verified, 
at  least  material  proofs  were  produced  that  she  had 
effectively  made  the  journey  and  the  visits  conform- 
ing to  her  recital  of  them.  She  had  no  other  motive 
in  going  to  Meresby  than  to  perform  the  mission 
which  had  been  confided  to  her  by  the  apparition 
in  the  middle  of  the  night.  She,  moreover,  had  no 
other  motive  than  this  in  visiting  people  who  were 
total  strangers  to  her. 

She  was  to  accomplish  we  know  not  what  secret 
ceremony  in  a  church  of  the  place,  and  that  in  the 
middle  of  the  night.  She  took  the  necessary  steps 
to  obtain  authority  for  this  visit  (Myers  knew  the 
motives  of  the  secrets  guarded  by  the  interested  sur- 
vivors and  feels  that  their  silence  is  fully  justified). 
There  is  no  plausible  hypothesis  to  explain  why  this 
woman  undertook  this  voyage  and  made  these  efforts 
under  the  domination  of  an  insane  suggestion,  since 
the  visit  was  for  her  only  a  source  of  trouble  and 
weariness.  Moreover,  in  order  to  obey  the  injunc- 
tion of  the  ghost  she  had  left  a  sick  child  at  home. 

It  should  be  noted  that  at  the  first  word  spoken 
by  Mrs.  Blackburn's  ghost  Mrs.  Claughton  had  an- 
swered, asking  her: 


258       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

"Am  I  dreaming  or  is  this  a  reality?"  and  that 
Mrs.  Blackburn  had  replied: 

"If  you  doubt,  look  up  the  date  of  my  marriage." 

And  she  gave  the  exact  date  of  her  marriage, 
which  had  been  celebrated  in  India. 

The  next  night  the  ghost  of  Mrs.  Blackburn  ap- 
peared a  second  time,  accompanied  by  a  man  who, 
declaring  that  he  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of 
Meresby,  gave  the  name  of  George  Howard.  Since 
Mrs.  Claughton  did  not  know  him  at  all,  he  indicated 
the  dates  of  his  marriage  and  of  his  death,  asking 
her  to  verify  them  in  the  parish  register.  He  begged 
her,  after  this  verification,  to  come  to  the  church 
during  the  night,  to  lock  herself  in  there  alone,  and 
to  wait  near  the  tomb  of  Richard  Hart,  in  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  lower  side.  He  also  gave  the 
latter's  age  and  the  date  of  his  decease,  which  could 
be  verified  by  the  registers.  He  asked  her  to  go 
to  his  grave  and  pick  some  white  roses  which  she 
would  find  there  and  to  send  them  to  Dr.  Ferrier 
with  her  railroad  ticket.  In  order  that  she  might 
do  this  she  was  told,  her  railroad  ticket  would  not 
be  requested  upon  her  arrival.  She  was  to  receive 
the  assistance  of  a  dark  man  named  Joseph  Wright ; 
and  his  wife,  in  whose  home  she  would  stay,  would 
tell  her  she  had  a  child  buried  in  the  same  cemetery. 
It  was  only  later  that  she  was  to  learn  the  end  of 
the  story  whose  secret  was  guarded.  These  revela- 
tions were  made  while  two  ghosts  were  present,  but 
a  third  personage  appeared  whose  name  Mrs. 
Claughton  cannot  reveal.  He  was  standing  at  the 
right  of  Mrs.  Blackburn  and  seemed  greatly  troubled, 
hiding  his  face  in  his  hands.  At  the  end  Mrs. 
Claughton  fainted,  but  not  before  she  had  recourse 
to  a  signal  for  help  which  after  the  first  apparition 
had  been  placed  under  her  pillow.  Dr.  Ferrier,  the 
administrator  of  the  haunted  house,  verified  the  date 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND    259 

of  Mrs.  Blackburn's  marriage,  and  discovered  at  the 
Post  Office  that  Meresby  was  really  a  little  town  in 
Suffolk  County.  Mrs.  Claughton  then  left  Blake 
Street  and  came  to  London  on  Friday,  where  she 
dreamed  that  she  had  come  to  the  village  on  a  holi- 
day and  was  wandering  from  place  to  place  looking 
for  a  lodging.  Saturday  she  went  to  the  depot  and 
entered  the  lunch  room  asking  the  employee  there 
to  call  her  some  time  before  the  departure  of  the 
train;  but  the  latter,  by  mistake,  looked  for  her  in 
the  waiting  room,  so  that  she  missed  her  train.  She 
visited  the  British  Museum  about  3:50  in  the  after- 
noon.1 At  Meresby  she  had  great  difficulty  in  find- 
ing lodgings  and  finally  sought  refuge  in  the  home 
of  Joseph  Wright,  who  was  found  to  be  the  sac- 
ristan. On  Sunday  Mrs.  Wright  told  her  of  her 
darling  little  girl  buried  in  the  cemetery.  Mrs. 
Claughton  attended  the  Sunday  services,  going  im- 
mediately afterwards  to  the  sacristy  in  order  to 
verify  the  dates  on  the  registers.  Joseph  Wright 
had  known  George  Howard  and  recognized  her 
description  of  the  apparition.  He  then  conducted 
Mrs.  Claughton  to  the  tombs  of  Richard  Hart  and 
George  Howard,  on  the  latter  of  which  there  was 
no  grave  stone  but  three  mounds  surrounded  by  a 
grating,  twined  with  white  roses.  There  she  picked 
a  white  rose  for  Dr.  Ferrier  as  she  had  been  asked 
and  visited  the  vicar,  who  showed  himself  quite  un- 
sympathetic to  her  undertaking.  After  luncheon 
she  visited,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Wright,  a  park 
which  surrounded  the  country  house  of  George 
Howard.  She  then  awaited  the  coming  of  night, 
wondering  whether  she  would  have  the  courage  to 
fulfill  her  mission  to  the  end.  Joseph  Wright  took 

i  The  importance  of  these  minute  details  is  that  they  were 
verified  in  every  particular.  This  is  a  method  of  the  Society 
for  Psychical  Research  from  which  it  never  deviates. 


260       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

her  to  the  church  about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning; 
they  examined  the  nave  to  make  sure  there  was  no 
one  there.  Finally  alone  and  without  a  light,  at 
twenty  minutes  after  one,  she  kept  vigil  over  the 
tomb  of  Richard  Hart,  and  without  experiencing 
any  fear.  Here  she  received  a  communication,  of 
which  she  is  forbidden  to  speak.  It  was  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  story  previously  given  to  her  on 
Blake  Street.  She  was  asked  to  take  a  second  white 
rose  from  the  tomb  of  Richard  Hart  and  to  give 
it  to  his  daughter,  whose  home  at  Hart  Hall  was 
indicated  to  her.  She  was  further  asked  to  notice 
how  charming  was  this  daughter  and  how  much  she 
resembled  her  father. 

At  a  quarter  of  two  in  the  morning  Joseph  Wright 
released  Mrs.  Claughton  from  the  church.  She 
gathered  a  rose  for  Miss  Howard  and  returned  to 
the  house  and  went  to  bed,  where  she  slept  very 
well — for  the  first  time  since  Mrs.  Blackburn  had 
appeared  to  her. 

These  are  the  facts.  It  is  useless  to  try  to  at- 
tribute the  phenomenon  to  an  overexcited  imagina- 
tion or  to  clairvoyancy ;  and  it  is  equally  impossible 
to  explain  by  imposture  a  drama  so  complex,  and 
one  which  required  the  collaboration  of  so  many 
honest  people  all  unknown  to  one  another. 

Mrs.  Claughton  was  not  the  only  one  who  saw 
the  phantom.  Before  Mrs.  Claughton's  arrival  Mrs. 
Blackburn's  own  daughter  had  seen  her,  but  up  to 
this  point  it  would  have  been  possible  to  doubt. 
The  unique  fact  in  this  story  is  that  all  its  elements 
have  been  verified  and  the  witnesses  are  irrefutable. 
Yet,  even  so,  there  are  people  who  reject  a  fact 
for  the  simple  reason  that  it  is  unbelievable.  Aside 
from  the  consideration  that  experience  shows  us 
every  day  that  it  is  absurd  to  reject  a  fact  upon 
that  ground  alone,  the  absence  of  critical  sense  is 


MANIFESTATIONS  FROM  THE  BEYOND     261 

to  be  deplored.  The  intellectual  laziness  of  the  ma- 
jority of  people  who  reject  phenomena  because  they 
do  not  care  to  take  the  trouble  to  understand  them, 
is  equally  to  be  regretted.  The  voluntary  in- 
credulity of  skeptics  is  much  more  reprehensible 
than  credulity. 


CHAPTER  XII 
MORS  JANUA  VITAE 

Le  vie  est  un  degr6  de  l'£chelle  des  mondes 
Que  nous  devons   franchir  pour  arriver  ailleurs. 

LAMABTINE. 

I  HAVE  finished.  I  pause  of  necessity  before  this 
incomplete  synthesis  in  which  as  yet  I  have  not 
spoken  of  death.  It  is  in  death  that  the  immortal 
soul  triumphs,  affirming  its  survival  by  frequent 
manifestations,  the  importance  of  which  we  can 
measure  without  awaiting  the  verdict  of  science. 
With  the  proofs  which  they  contain  in  germ,  each 
one  of  our  chapters  would  suffice  to  prove  an  after- 
life. But  if  telepathy  between  living  persons  brings 
to  us  an  experimental  proof  of  the  existence  of  the 
spiritual  principle,  it  is  in  death  that  the  continuity 
of  this  principle  is  confirmed.  If  the  knocks,  and 
other  physical  manifestations,  present  a  certain  in- 
terest, it  is  only  in  their  connection  with  death  that 
we  find  an  answer  to  the  enigma. 

If  the  apparitions  of  the  living  may  enter  into 
the  domain  of  scientific  inquiry,  it  will  no  longer 
be  permissible  to  deny  the  apparitions  of  the  dead 
on  the  popular  grounds  that  they  are  impossible. 
Recall  here  the  conclusion  of  F.  W.  Myers.  I  now 
advance  a  bold  proposition,  for  I  predict  that  be- 
cause of  this  new  data  a  hundred  years  hence  all 
reasonable  men  will  believe  in  the  Resurrection  of 
262 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  263 

Christ ;  while  without  this  new  fact  no  sensible  person 
could  then  any  longer  possibly  believe  in  it.1 

One  may  find  the  proof  of  immortality  in  the 
study  of  death  and  the  dying,  on  the  condition  that 
observation  be  extended  well  beyond  the  patho- 
logical phenomenon  which  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
fact  of  survival.  A  mystery  which  closely  touches 
that  of  after-life,  the  mystery  of  the  fecundation  of 
bees,  was  solved  by  a  blind  man.  As  Fra^ois 
Huber  studied  the  life  of  the  bees  by  weighing  the 
observations  of  those  who  possessed  the  organ  of 
which  he  was  deprived ;  so  we,  the  blind  ones  of  "the 
Beyond,"  may  utilize  the  faculties  of  those  who 
have  the  gift  of  clairvoyancy  of  that  Beyond.  I 
know  that  we  must  limit  ourselves,  nor  trust  to  all 
clairvoyancy,  but  no  one  could  easily  persuade  me 
that  the  clairvoyant  de  Prevort  was  a  dissimulator, 
and  that  Madame  d'Esperance  was  not  absolutely 
sincere.  I  believe,  moreover,  that  somnambulistic 
lucidity,  when  it  is  not  distorted  by  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  medium,  is  a  useful  source  of  documenta- 
tion. Since  this  faculty  has  already  been  employed 
to  diagnose  the  internal  lesions  of  the  human  body, 
one  may  also  use  it  to  observe  the  various  changes 
of  the  separation  of  the  psychic  body  when  it  is  on 
the  point  of  leaving  its  mortal  shell. 

Here  is  a  curious  experiment  related  by  the  Figaro 
in  1891.  It  is  an  account  of  a  Belgian  artist, 

Wiertz,  whom  Doctor  D ,  his  friend,  put  to 

sleep  on  the  day  of  the  execution  of  a  murderer. 
After  having  experienced  and  described  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  condemned  man,  he  cried  out:  "I  am 
flying  in  space,  but  am  I  dead?  Is  everything  fin- 
i  Frederick  W.  Myers,  Human  Personality,  Vol.  II,  p.  287. 


264       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

ished?  No,  suffering  may  not  continue  always,"  etc. 
Erny,  who  recalled  this  fact,  added:  "Cannot  this 
experiment  be  renewed,  but  in  a  less  sinister  fashion? 
Let  us  arrange  to  have  a  subject  in  a  profound  state 
of  hypnosis  in  the  room  of  a  dying  person,  if  the 
relatives  will  allow  it.  If  not,  let  us  operate  in  the 
room  or  hall  of  a  hospital  or  sanitorium,  at  the 
moment  when  we  know  that  a  sick  man  is  dying."1 

From  his  point  of  view,  Dr.  Ciriax  has  written: 

"The  manner  in  which  death  is  described  by  hun- 
dreds of  clairvoyants  proves  that  the  soul  or  the 
spirit  comes  from  its  mortal  envelope  through  the 
brain.  These  clairvoyants  have  remarked  that,  im- 
mediately after  this  departure,  a  vaporous  cloud 
rises  above  the  head  and,  taking  a  human  form, 
condenses  itself  little  by  little,  more  and  more  re- 
sembling the  dead  person.  When  this  fluidic  body 
is  formed  it  remains  for  some  time  but  slightly 
attached  to  the  mortal  shell,  by  a  fluidic  tie  from 
a  region  intermediate  between  the  heart  and  the 
brain."  2 

In  1910  there  died  in  the  United  States  a  man 
who  enjoyed  the  greatest  esteem  in  America.  He 
was  a  medium  and  a  clairvoyant,  highly  intelligent 
and  possessing  rather  extensive  medical  knowledge. 
His  faculties  of  clairvoyancy  were  often  applied  in 
the  diagnoses  of  illness.  This  man  has  written  his 
memoirs  and  thus  describes  the  process  of  death: 

"My  faculties  of  clairvoyancy  permitted  me  to 
study  the  psychic  and  physiological  phenomenon  of 

1  Erny,  Experimental  Psychical  Science,  p.  98.     E.  Flam- 
marion,  publisher. 

2  Erny,  P.  P.    pp.  99-100. 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  265 

death  at  the  bedside  of  a  dying  person.  It  was  a 
woman  about  sixty  years  of  age  to  whom  I  had 
often  given  medical  advice.  When  the  hour  of  her 
death  arrived  I  was  very  fortunately  in  a  perfect 
state  of  health,  making  it  possible  for  my  faculties 
of  clairvoyancy  to  function  freely.  I  placed  myself 
in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  be  seen  nor  disturbed 
in  my  psychic  observation,  and  set  myself  to  the 
task  of  studying  the  mysterious  process  of  death. 

"I  saw  that  the  physical  organization  was  no 
longer  equal  to  the  necessities  of  the  intellectual 
principle,  but  the  various  internal  organs  seemed  to 
resist  the  departure  of  the  soul.  The  muscular  sys- 
tem sought  to  retain  its  motive  forces.  The  vascular 
tissue  struggled  to  keep  the  vital  principle.  The 
nervous  system  contended  with  all  its  power  against 
the  annihilation  of  the  physical  senses,  and  the 
cerebral  system  tried  to  retain  the  intellectual 
principle.  The  body  and  the  soul,  like  two  spouses, 
resisted  their  final  separation.  These  internal  con- 
flicts seemed  at  first  to  produce  painful  and  troubled 
sensations.  I  was  very  glad,  however,  that  these 
physical  manifestations  did  not  indicate  sorrow,  or 
discomfort,  but  simply  the  separation  of  the  soul  and 
the  organism.  A  little  while  afterwards,  the  head 
was  surrounded  by  a  brilliant  atmosphere,  when 
suddenly,  I  saw  the  brain  and  the  posterior  part  of 
the  brain  extend  their  inferior  parts  and  stop  their 
galvanic  functions.  They  became  saturated  with  the 
vital  principles  of  electricity  and  of  magnetism 
which  penetrates  into  the  secondary  parts  of  the 
body.  Or,  in  other  words,  the  brain  became  sud- 
denly ten  times  more  preponderant  than  it  was  dur- 
ing its  normal  state.  This  phenomenon  invariably 
precedes  physical  dissolution. 

"Moreover,  I  noticed  the  process  by  which  the  soul 
and  the  mind  detached  themselves  from  the  body. 


266       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

The  brain  attracts  to  itself  the  element  of  electricity, 
magnetism,  movement,  life,  and  sensibility,  scat- 
tered about  in  the  whole  organism.  The  head  be- 
comes luminous,  and  I  noticed  at  the  same  time  that 
the  extremities  of  the  body  become  cold.  The  brain 
took  on  a  particular  brilliancy. 

"From  this  fluidic  atmosphere  which  surrounded  the 
head,  I  saw  another  head  being  formed,  which  took 
shape  more  and  more  distinctly.  It  was  so  brilliant 
that  I  could  barely  gaze  upon  it,  but  in  measure  as 
this  fluidic  head  became  condensed  the  brilliant  at- 
mosphere disappeared.  I  deduct  from  this  that  the 
fluidic  elements  which  had  been  attracted  from  all 
parts  of  the  body  towards  the  brain  and  then 
eliminated  under  the  form  of  a  particular  atmos- 
phere, were  previously  solidly  united  according  to 
the  superior  principle  of  affinity  of  the  universe, 
which  makes  itself  felt  in  every  particle  of  matter. 
With  surprise  and  admiration  I  followed  the  phases 
of  the  phenomenon.  In  the  same  manner  as  the 
fluidic  head  became  detached  from  the  brain,  I  saw 
being  formed  successively  the  neck,  the  shoulders,  the 
torso,  and  finally  the  entire  fluidic  body.  It  was 
evident  to  me  that  the  intellectual  parts  of  the 
human  being  are  endowed  with  an  elective  affinity, 
which  permits  them  to  reunite  at  the  moment  of 
death.  The  deformities  and  defects  of  the  physical 
body  had  almost  entirely  disappeared  from  the 
fluidic  body. 

"While  this  spiritualistic  phenomenon  was  develop- 
ing clearly  before  my  clairvoyant  faculties,  before 
the  material  eyes  of  the  people  present  in  the  room 
the  body  of  the  dying  one  seemed  to  be  experiencing 
all  symptoms  of  disturbance  and  pain.  These,  how- 
ever, were  fictitious,  for  they  announced  only  the 
departure  of  the  vital  and  intellectual  forces,  with- 
drawing from  the  whole  body  in  order  to  concentrate 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  267 

in  the  brain,  and  finally  in  a  new  organism.  The 
mind  or  disincarnated  intelligence  raised  itself  up 
at  a  right  angle  above  the  head  of  the  deserted  body, 
but  before  the  final  separation  of  the  tie,  which  had 
united  the  material  and  intellectual  parts  for  so 
long,  I  saw  a  vital  current  of  electricity  forming 
itself  on  the  head  of  the  dying  one  and  becoming  the 
basis  of  a  new  fluidic  body.  This  gave  me  the  con- 
viction that  death  is  only  a  rebirth  of  a  soul  where 
the  spirit  rises  from  an  inferior  state  to  a  superior 
one,  and  that  the  birth  of  a  child  in  this  world,  or 
the  formation  of  a  spirit  in  the  other,  are  identical 
facts.  Nothing  was  lacking,  even  the  umbilical  cord 
typified  by  the  tie  of  vital  electricity.  This  bond  be- 
tween the  two  organisms  continued  for  some  time. 
I  discovered  then  what  I  had  not  perceived  in  my 
psychic  investigations,  that  a  small  portion  of  the 
vital  fluid  returned  to  the  material  body  as  soon 
as  the  cord  or  electrical  bond  was  broken.  This 
fluidic  or  electric  element  flowing  over  the  whole 
organism  prevents  the  immediate  dissolution  of  the 
body.  As  soon  as  the  soul  of  the  person  under  my 
observation  was  released  from  the  tenacious  bonds 
of  the  body,  I  noticed  that  this  new  fluidic  organism 
had  become  appropriated  by  its  new  form,  but  that 
the  general  appearance  resembled  its  terrestial 
shape.  It  was  impossible  for  me  to  know  what  was 
passing  in  this  revivified  intelligence,  but  I  remarked 
its  calm  and  its  astonishment  at  the  profound  sor- 
row of  those  who  were  weeping  near  her  body.  She 
seemed  to  take  into  consideration  their  ignorance 
of  what  was  really  occurring."  1 

Observations  of  this  nature  are  valuable.  Cer- 
tainly we  are  not  unaware  of  what  small  credence 
must  be  accorded  to  clairvoyancy  in  general;  but 

iF.  N.  Erney,  Experimental  Psychical  Science,  pp.  94-97. 


268       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

when  it  is  a  question  of  exceptional  clairvoyants, 
whose  honor  has  been  constantly  affirmed  through  a 
long  life,  it  would  be  folly  not  to  take  such  testimony 
into  account.  The  above  description  answers  ex- 
actly to  a  true  vision  because  it  agrees  with  many 
similar  observations.  I  acknowledge,  nevertheless, 
that  we  should  accept  nothing  of  what  the  clairvoy- 
ants describe  concerning  the  life  beyond  because 
they  interpret  according  to  their  personal  concep- 
tion the  things  perceived  on  the  mental  plane,  and 
these  are  often  indefinable ;  yet  we  may  believe  them 
when  they  concern  the  physical  plane.  Here  it  was 
a  question  of  the  physical  process  of  disincarnation. 

But  we  have  other  testimony  than  that  of  the  clair- 
voyants— the  statements  of  the  dying  when  they 
have  been  called  back  to  life,  and  these  latter  cor- 
respond fully  with  the  observation  of  clairvoyants. 
The  return  to  life,  after  having  crossed  the  threshold 
of  death,  permits  a  few  of  them  to  recount  their 
impressions;  when  the  latter  are  doctors  and  keen 
observers  their  testimony  takes  on  an  added  value. 
Here  is  an  example,  the  case  of  Dr.  Wiltse,  a  physi- 
cian of  Skiddy,  Kansas,  examined  by  Dr.  Hodgson 
and  F.  Myers,  the  records  collected  by  the  annals  of 
the  Society  F.  P.  R.,  vol.  Ill,  p.  180. 

The  fact  was  published  in  the  Journal  of  Surgery 
and  Medicine  of  St.  Louis,  in  November,  1889,  and 
in  the  Mid-Continental  Review  of  February,  1890.  I 
abbreviate  the  narration  of  Dr.  Wiltse:1 

"Finally  the  pupil  of  my  eye  contracted,  my  per- 
ceptions became  feeble,  my  voice  weakened,  and  I 
felt  myself  overpowered  by  a  general  sensation  of 

i  From  Human  Personality,  Vol.  II,  pp.  315-321. 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  269 

heaviness.  I  made  a  violent  effort  to  stretch  out 
ray  limbs.  I  crossed  my  arms  on  my  chest,  then, 
joining  my  stiffened  fingers,  fell  suddenly  into  com- 
plete unconsciousness. 

"I  remained  about  four  hours  without  a  throb  of 
the  pulse  or  a  movement  of  the  heart.  I  learned 
this  later  from  Dr.  S.  H.  Raynes,  the  only  doctor 
present.  During  this  time  several  of  those  present 
thought  me  dead;  the  rumor  circulated  outside  and 
the  bells  of  the  village  were  already  tolling  for  me. 
Dr.  Raynes  told  me,  nevertheless,  that  when  he 
looked  at  my  face  he  thought  he  perceived  for  a 
moment,  a  faint  breath,  so  faint  as  to  be  almost 
imperceptible.  Dr.  Raynes  imbedded  a  needle  in 
my  skin  at  various  places  from  the  head  to  the  feet, 
but  no  evidence  of  life  responded.  Even  though  the 
pulse  seemed  to  cease  beating  for  four  hours,  the 
state  of  apparent  death  hardly  lasted  more  than  a 
half  hour.  I  lost  all  ability  to  think,  and  all  sen- 
sation of  life ;  I  was  in  a  state  of  absolute  uncon- 
sciousness. When  I  regained  the  sense  of  existence, 
I  felt  that  I  was  still  in  my  body  but  that  my  body 
and  myself  no  longer  had  anything  in  common.  To 
my  astonishment  and  joy,  I  was  enabled  to  observe 
my  real  'ego'  while  my  nonexistent  self  was  im- 
prisoned on  every  side  as  in  a  sepulchre  of  clay. 
With  the  interest  of  a  physician  I  contemplated  the 
marvels  of  the  corporeal  physiology  with  which  I 
was  confused,  the  living  soul  in  the  dead  body. 

"I  analyzed  my  state  quite  calmly,  reasoning  thus : 
'I  am  dead  according  to  the  language  of  men  and 
nevertheless  I  am  a  man  more  than  ever.  I  am  on 
the  point  of  leaving  my  body.'  I  observed  the  in- 
teresting procedure  of  the  soul,  as  it  detaches  itself 
from  the  body.  A  power  which  seemed  not  to  come 
from  within  me  shook  my  whole  Ego  from  one  side 
to  the  other,  as  one  swings  a  cradle,  and  that  seemed 


270      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

to  enable  the  soul  to  detach  itself  from  the  bond  of 
corporeal  tissue. 

"At  the  end  of  a  moment  this  lateral  movement 
stopped,  and  I  felt,  and  heard — at  least  so  it  seemed 
to  me — innumerable  vibrations  of  little  strings  in 
the  soles  of  the  feet  from  the  big  toe  to  the  heel. 
After  that  I  began  to  withdraw  gently  from  my  feet 
towards  my  head.  I  saw  myself  come  as  far  as  the 
thigh,  and  said,  'Now  there  is  no  life  below  the 
hips.'  I  have  no  memory  of  having  crossed  the 
abdomen  and  chest,  but  I  remember  clearly  when 
all  seemed  to  be  concentrated  in  my  head,  and  to 
have  made  the  reflection,  'Here  I  am  all  intact  in 
my  head.  I  shall  soon  be  detached.'  I  passed 
around  the  brain  as  if  I  had  been  hollow,  pressing  it 
all  around,  with  its  membranes  toward  the  center, 
and  came  through  the  sutures  of  the  brain,  emerging 
like  the  thin  leaves  of  a  membraneous  envelope.  As 
to  the  form  and  the  color  I  remember  very  clearly 
that  I  appeared  to  myself  somewhat  like  a  Medusa's 
head. 

"In  leaving,  I  noticed  two  women  seated  at  my 
bedside,  estimated  the  distance  between  the  head  of 
my  bed  and  the  knees  of  the  woman  opposite,  and 
concluded  there  was  sufficient  space  for  me  to  stand 
there,  but  I  experienced  an  extreme  embarrassment 
at  the  thought  that  I  would  have  to  appear  nude 
before  her.  Nevertheless,  I  decided  to  attempt  it, 
saying  to  myself  that  according  to  all  probabilities, 
she  could  not  see  me  with  the  eyes  of  the  body  since 
I  was  a  spirit.  As  soon  as  I  went  out,  I  floated  from 
the  earth  upward  to  right  and  to  left,  like  a  soap 
bubble  which  adheres  to  the  pipe,  until  at  length  I 
detached  myself  from  the  body,  lightly  falling  to  the 
floor,  from  which  I  arose,  having  taken  on  again  all 
the  appearance  of  an  ordinary  man.  I  was  as 
.transparent  as  a  blue  flame  and  completely  nude. 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  271 

With  a  painful  sensation  of  embarrassment,  I 
glided  towards  the  half-open  door  in  order  to  escape 
the  glances  from  those  ladies  opposite  me,  also  from 
the  other  persons  whom  I  knew  were  around  me.  But 
having  reached  the  door,  I  found  myself  dressed. 
Satisfied  on  this  point,  I  came  back  to  the  company. 
As  I  was  returning,  my  left  elbow  touched  the  arm 
of  one  of  the  two  gentlemen  who  were  standing  near 
the  door.  To  my  stupefaction  the  arm  passed  with- 
out resistance  through  mine,  then  the  divided  parts 
came  together  without  pain,  rejoining  themselves  as 
if  made  of  air.  Quickly  I  looked  at  his  face  to  see 
whether  he  had  felt  this  contact,  but  he  gave  no  sign 
of  it.  He  remained  standing,  gazing  fixedly  at  the 
bed  which  I  had  just  left.  I  looked  in  the  direction 
of  the  bed  and  saw  my  own  corpse.  I  was  there, 
lying  in  the  attitude  which  I  had  so  much  trouble 
to  assume,  slightly  turned  on  the  right  side,  my 
feet  close  together  and  my  hands  crossed  on  the 
chest.  I  was  surprised  at  the  pallor  of  my  face. 
I  had  not  seen  a  mirror  for  several  days  and  I 
should  have  thought  myself  less  pale  than  the 
majority  of  people  equally  ill.  I  congratulated 
myself,  for  my  own  part,  upon  the  decent  attitude 
which  I  had  given  to  my  body,  hoping  that  my 
friends  would  not  be  less  favorably  impressed  with 
it.  I  saw  a  number  of  persons  seated  or  standing 
around  the  body,  and  I  noticed  particularly  two 
women  who  seemed  to  be  kneeling  at  my  left.  I 
understood  they  were  shedding  tears.  I  have  learned 
since  th«,t  they  were  my  wife  and  my  sister,  but  at 
this  moment  I  had  no  consciousness  of  personality — 
wife,  sister,  or  friend,  all  were  the  same  to  me.  I 
wished  later,  to  attract  the  attention  of  these  per- 
sons with  a  view  of  confirming  them  in  the  certainty 
of  their  own  immortality.  I  made  some  joyous  bows 
and  saluted  the  company  with  my  right  hand.  I 


272       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

placed  myself  in  the  very  midst  of  them,  but  they 
paid  no  attention.  Then  the  comedy  of  the  situa- 
tion struck  me  and  I  laughed  quite  gayly.  Never- 
theless, I  thought,  'They  must  have  heard  this,' 
but  it  must  have  been  otherwise,  for  no  eyes  were 
turned  away  from  my  corpse.  I  said  to  myself: 
'They  only  see  with  the  eyes  of  the  body  and  can- 
not see  the  spirits.  They  examine  what  they  be- 
lieve to  be  me,  but  they  are  mistaken.  It  is  not  I, 
I  am  here  and  I  am  more  alive  than  ever.' 

"I  went  out  of  the  open  door,  lowering  my  head 
and  searching  for  a  place  to  put  my  feet  in  order 
to  go  down  to  the  vestibule.  I  crossed  the  door- 
sill,  went  down  the  steps,  and  out  into  the  street. 
There  I  stopped  to  look  around  me.  Never  have 
I  seen  this  street  so  distinctly  as  I  saw  it  then;  I 
noticed  the  redness  of  the  soil  and  the  puddles  of 
water  left  by  the  rain.  I  cast  an  anxious  eye  about 
me  as  would  one  who  is  going  to  leave  his  home 
for  a  long  time.  I  perceived  then  that  I  was  taller 
than  I  had  been  in  my  terrestial  life,  a  fact  which 
gave  me  much  pleasure.  I  was  always  too  small 
for  my  own  comfort.  'Now,'  thought  I,  'in  my 
new  existence  I  shall  be  according  to  my  desire.' 
I  noticed  also  that  my  clothes  fitted  my  greater 
height  exactly,  and  I  wondered  with  astonishment 
whence  they  came,  and  how  I  found  them  on  myself. 
The  fabric  was  a  kind  of  Scotch  cloth,  a  good  suit, 
not  luxurious  but  presentable.  'I  feel  so  well  now,' 
I  said  to  myself,  'and  only  a  few  moments  ago  I 
was  terribly  sick  and  was  suffering.  Here  then  is 
this  change,  which  we  call  death  and  which  fright- 
ened me  so  greatly.  Now  it  is  over  and  am  I  still 
a  man  full  of  life  and  thought?  Yes,  truly,  and 
with  a  mind  clearer  than  ever.  What  a  wonderful 
state  of  well-being.  I  shall  never  more  be  sick  and 
cannot  die  again.'  In  my  exultation,  I  leaped  for 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  273 

joy  then  again  continued  the  contemplation  of  my 
figure  and  my  clothes. 

"Suddenly  I  noticed  that  I  could  see  a  thin  line 
down  the  back  of  my  coat.  'How  is  it,'  said  I, 
'that  I  can  see  my  back?'  I  looked  again  to  re- 
assure myself,  at  the  back  of  my  coat  and  my  legs 
down  to  my  heels;  I  put  my  hand  to  my  face  to 
touch  my  eyes;  yes,  they  were  in  their  place.  'Am 
I  then,  like  an  owl  who  can  turn  his  head  half-way 
round?'  I  tried  that,  but  without  success.  Then 
it  might  be  possible,  I  thought,  that  though  sepa- 
rated from  my  body  for  the  moment,  I  may  have 
the  ability  of  seeing  with  the  eyes  of  my  body ;  and 
I  turned  to  look  back  of  me.  By  looking  through 
the  half-open  door  to  see  if  the  head  of  my  own 
body  were  on  a  line  with  myself,  I  perceived  a  thin 
thread  like  that  of  a  spider's  web,  starting  from 
behind  my  shoulders  and  ending  in  the  body  oppo- 
site, at  the  base  of  the  neck. 

"I  deduced  from  this  conclusion,  that,  thanks  to 
that  bond,  I  could  still  make  use  of  the  eyes  of  my 
body  and  I  went  down  into  the  street.  I  advanced 
a  few  steps  and  lost  consciousness.  When  I  re- 
covered I  was  floating  in  space  sustained  by  hands 
which  were  holding  me  lightly  on  either  side.  The 
possessor  of  these  hands,  if  there  were  one,  was  be- 
hind me,  pushing  me  through  the  air,  which  seemed 
a  rapid  and  agreeable  method  of  locomotion.  In 
time,  I  understood  my  situation  better;  I  had  been 
taken  away  and  placed  with  ease  at  the  entrance  of 
a  narrow  but  well  arranged  passage,  which  arose 
at  an  incline  of  not  less  than  45  degrees.  Raising 
my  eyes,  I  found  the  sky  and  the  clouds  to  be  at 
their  usual  height;  lowering  them  I  noticed  below 
the  verdant  crest  of  the  woods.  I  thought,  'The 
tops  of  these  trees  below  are  as  far  away  as  the 
clouds  above.'  I  examined  the  materials  of  the 


274       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

road;  it  was  made  of  fine  sand  and  a  kind  of  milky 
quartz.  I  picked  up  a  piece  and  examined  it  quite 
closely.  I  remember  very  well  that  in  the  center 
there  was  a  small  black  spot ;  I  looked  at  it  minutely, 
and  it  was  a  small  cavity  apparently  caused  by 
chemical  action  of  some  metal. 

"It  had  rained  and  I  felt  the  freshness  of  the  air. 
I  noticed  that,  despite  the  roughness  of  the  slope 
I  did  not  experience  any  fatigue  in  walking,  my  feet 
were  light  afcd  my  steps  uncertain  as  those  of  a 
child.  As  I  walked,  the  memory  of  my  recent  illness 
came  back  to  my  mind,  and  I  was  enjoying  the 
sense  of  my  renewed  health  and  recovered  strength. 
Then  a  feeling  of  loneliness  overpowered  me;  I  de- 
sired the  society  of  some  companion,  and  reasoned 
with  myself:  'Some  one  dies  every  minute,  I  have 
been  waiting  merely  30  minutes,  surely  some  one 
will  die  in  these  mountains  and  will  come  to  keep 
me  company.'  Meanwhile  I  surveyed  the  space 
around  me.  Toward  the  east  there  was  a  long  chain 
of  mountains  and  a  forest  below  extended  to  the 
side  of  the  mountain,  and  beyond  that,  to  its  sum- 
mit. Below  me  was  a  wooded  valley  through  which 
ran  a  beautiful  river  whose  multitude  of  tiny  waves 
were  tossing  up  a  veil  of  white  spray.  I  compared 
this  stream  to  an  emerald  river,  and  the  mountains 
seemed  greatly  to  resemble  the  heights  of  Waldron. 
The  abrupt  slope  of  the  black  rocks  which  lay  to 
the  right  and  the  left  of  the  road  called  to  my 
memory  Lookout  Mountain,  where  the  railroad 
passes  between  the  Tennessee  River  and  the  moun- 
tain. Thus  the  three  great  faculties  of  the  mind — 
memory,  judgment,  and  imagination — acted  together 
in  all  their  integrity. 

"I  awaited  a  companion  for  over  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  but  no  one  came.  Then  I  reasoned:  'It  is 
probable  that  when  one  dies  each  has  indivdually 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  275 

to  follow  his  given  path,  and  is  obliged  to  travel 
alone.  As  there  are  not  two  men  exactly  alike,  it 
follows  that  there  cannot  be  two  travelers  faring 
along  the  same  route  in  the  other  world.' 

"I  felt  certain  that  some  being  from  the  other 
world  would  come  to  meet  me,  but  strangely  enough 
I  was  not  thinking  of  any  one  person  in  particular 
that  I  would  have  preferred.  'Angel  or  demon,' 
said  I  to  myself,  'one  or  the  other  will  come;  I  am 
curious  to  know  which  it  shall  be.'  I  thought  then 
that  I  had  never  believed  in  all  the  dogmas  of  the 
Church,  but  that  I  had  by  my  writings  and  my 
words  affirmed  a  belief  I  considered  better.  'But,' 
I  continued,  'I  know  nothing;  is  there  a  place  for 
doubt  and  a  place  for  error?  It  is  possible  that 
I  am  hurrying  on  to  a  terrible  destination.'  Then 
something  difficult  to  describe  took  place  all  around 
me,  and  coming  from  every  point,  I  heard  expressed 
thoughts.  'Be  without  fear,  you  are  saved!'  I 
heard  no  voice,  I  saw  no  being,  but  I  was  conscious 
that  at  different  points,  at  various  distances  from 
me,  some  one  was  thinking  and  expressing  things 
that  concerned  me.  How  could  I  take  cognizance 
of  them?  It  was  so  very  mysterious  that  I  doubted 
its  reality.  A  sensation  of  doubt  and  fear  over- 
powered me  and  I  began  to  grow  very  miserable, 
when  a  face  stamped  with  ineffable  love  and  tender- 
ness appeared  for  an  instant  and  strengthened  my 
faith. 


"Without  consciousness  or  effort  on  my  part  my 
eyes  reopened;  I  noticed  my  hands  and  the  little 
white  bed  on  which  I  lay,  and  realizing  that  I  had 
re-entered  my  body,  I  cried  out  with  surprise  and 


276       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

disappointment  'What  has  happened?  Must  I  die 
again?'  I  was  very  weak,  but  still  strong  enough  to 
recount  the  preceding  story  in  spite  of  all  the  ex- 
hortations to  remain  quiet." 

From  replies  made  to  investigators,  it  was  evident 
that  the  sick  man  had  correctly  seen  the  facts  and 
exterior  images.  Thus  the  two  gentlemen  seen  near 
the  door  of  the  room  in  truth  occupied  that  place, 
and  the  puddles  of  water  seen  in  the  streets  were 
really  outside,  since  the  weather  had  been  rainy.  As 
to  the  thin  fluidic  thread,  the  subject  may  have  had 
some  knowledge  of  this  theory,  but  he  did  not  believe 
in  it  at  all,  so  that  no  one  could  attribute  this 
phenomenon  to  the  visualization  of  an  expectant 
idea. 

The  recital  of  the  doctor  has  been  confirmed  by 
five  persons,  who  were  then  present,  and  Myers  tells 
us  that  his  interest  was  so  keenly  aroused  that  he, 
as  well  as  his  friend  Hodgson,  desired  to  make  the 
personal  acquaintance  of  the  narrator. 

Thus  all  the  testimony  agrees  in  representing  the 
process  of  death  as  a  freeing  of  something  which 
is  not  absolutely  immaterial,  but  which  is  the  seat 
of  the  thinking  principle.  It  would  be  wrong,  there- 
fore, to  consider  a  phantom  as  an  unreality.  To 
reject  a  reality  because  it  lends  itself  to  raillery 
would  be  an  attitude  unworthy  of  a  scientific  mind. 
The  histories  of  ghosts,  "Les  revenants"  as  they 
are  called  in  French,  the  returning  ones,  find  their 
justification  in  the  established  proof  of  the  existence 
of  a  fluidic  substratum  which  brings  into  objectivity 
the  images  of  the  world  of  thought.  This  has  noth- 
ing of  the  supernatural,  and  there  are  apparitions 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  277 

of  such  an  authentic  character  that  it  would  be 
absurd  not  to  take  them  into  account. 

Knowing  that  a  living  being  may  act  upon  another 
by  telepathy  and  produce  by  this  means  a  visual 
image,  we  know  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that 
this  vision  is  due  to  an  exterior  and  active  opera- 
tion. When  this  operation  may  influence  the  senses 
of  several  people  it  does  not  prove  as  yet,  perhaps, 
its  material  objectivity,  but  it  proves  at  least  that 
which  I  shall  call  essential  objectivity. 

The  following  apparition,  seen  independently  by 
three  people,  has  been  reported  by  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Astronomical  Society  of  London  in  a  well- 
known  scientific  journal,  valued  highly  by  all 
astronomers;  English  Mechanic  and  World  of 
Science,  of  July  20,  1906. 

It  is  of  importance  to  notice  that  the  apparition 
appeared  after  a  death.  We  shall  give  but  a  brief 
resume : 

On  the  tenth  of  January,  1879,  Rev.  Charles 
Tweedale,  awakening  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
saw  his  grandmother  appear,  observed  her  for 
several  seconds,  and  then  saw  her  gradually  fade 
from  sight  into  the  moonlight. 

One  thing  in  particular  struck  him — that  his 
grandmother  was  wearing  an  old-fashioned  fluted 
bonnet.  His  own  father  was  awakened  too,  at  the 
same  moment,  and  saw  the  same  apparition  (his 
mother)  standing  near  his  bed.  Finally  the  sister 
of  the  latter  who  lived  30  kilometers  from  there, 
had  the  same  vision  of  her  mother,  that  same 
evening  at  2  A.M.  Mr.  Tweedale,  the  father,  noted 
the  precise  instant.  As  for  Mr.  Chas.  Tweedale 
(the  son)  he  was  sure,  according  to  the  light  thrown 


278       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

on  the  walls,  that  the  moon  had  crossed  the 
meridian.  He  consulted  on  this  subject  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  of  London, 
who  fixed  the  hour  of  the  passage  at  14  hrs.  19 
minutes  which  corresponds  to  2:19  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  grandmother  had  died  at  15  min- 
utes after  midnight.  Thus  three  persons,  inde- 
pendent of  each  other,  had  the  same  vision  two  hours 
after  the  decease.  Moreover,  Mr.  Tweedale  declares 
that  he  had  not  seen  his  grandmother  for  several 
years  when  she  died.  He  wrote  to  his  uncle  and 
sent  him  a  sketch  of  the  bonnet,  asking  if  there 
were  an  analogy  between  it  and  the  mortuary  head- 
covering  of  the  deceased.  The  uncle  replied,  "The 
resemblance  is  striking." 

The  Rev.  Chas.  Tweedale,  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Astronomical  Society  of  London  ends  with  the  fol- 
lowing reflections: 

"The  fact  which  I  have  just  reported  presents 
all  the  guarantees  of  authenticity,  and  one  could 
not,  I  think,  regard  it  as  fraudulent.  I  counsel  all 
the  incredulous  to  peruse  the  remarkable  facts  con- 
tained in  Human  Personality,  by  F.  Myers,  and  also 
those  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research.  Sixteen  volumes  may  be  consulted  to 
great  advantage.  To  those  of  our  readers  who  would 
care  to  delve  a  little  deeper  into  these  perplexing 
problems  with  a  true  scholar,  I  would  name  Sir 
William  Crookes,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  as  also  several 
eminent  members  of  the  Council  of  the  Society." 

We  often  have  great  difficulty  in  impressing 
superficial  minds  with  the  notion  that  the  appari- 
tions of  deceased  persons  are  really  studied  to-day, 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  279 

and  by  real  scholars.  The  question  is  nevertheless 
much  simplified  by  the  data  recently  acquired  by 
telepathic  messages,  provoking  a  vision  which  is  a 
faithful  picture  of  the  situation  in  which  the  de- 
ceased found  himself  in  his  last  minutes.  Often 
the  manifestation  is  limited  to  simple  apparition, 
which  is  shown  calm  and  smiling,  at  the  very  hour 
when  the  sick  person  is  expiring;  it  is  sometimes  a 
true  materialization — that  is,  this  invisible  body, 
described  by  all  clairvoyants,  finds  in  the  surround- 
ing air  unknown  resources  of  strength,  so  that  by 
means  of  condensation  it  may  attain  visibility.  We 
read  in  Telepathic  Hallucinations,  page  182,  of  a 
similar  case  of  condensation  and  gradual  formation, 
thus  described  by  a  friend  of  the  deceased: 

"In  proportion  as  it  advanced,  this  fog,  to  call 
it  thus,  concentrated  in  a  single  place,  grew  thicker, 
and  presented  the  contours  of  a  human  figure  of 
which  the  head  and  shoulders  became  more  and  more 
distinctly  visible,  while  the  rest  of  the  body  seemed 
enveloped  in  a  veil  of  gauze,  like  a  mantle.  The 
full  light  of  the  window  fell  upon  the  object,  which 
was  so  lacking  in  consistency  and  so  thin  that  the 
light,  reflected  on  the  highly  varnished  panels  of 
the  door,  was  visible  through  the  lower  part  of  the 
garment.  The  apparition  had  no  color,  it  seemed 
to  be  a  statue  sculptured  out  from  the  fog." 

The  witness  of  this  apparition  then  recognized  the 
features  of  a  very  dear  friend;  the  face  had  an 
expression  of  peace,  repose,  and  holiness.  Then  in 
an  instant  everything  disappeared  as  a  vapor  does 
when  it  comes  into  contact  with  cold  air.  The  next 
day's  mail  brought  news  that  this  friend  had  dred 


280       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

at  the  very  moment  when  he  had  been  seen.  It  was 
a  sudden  death,  that  nothing  could  have  predicted. 
This  example  belongs  to  a  category  of  similar 
facts  by  which  we  may  affirm  that  the  apparition  of 
the  deceased  is  not  always  a  matter  of  simple 
telepathy,  but  may  sometimes  be  manifested  by  the 
ordinary  process  of  materialization.  Let  us  cite  the 
following : 

Mr.  Binet  relates  (The  Unknown,  p.  84)  that  a 
little  friend  of  his  appeared  to  him  under  the  same 
conditions.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  saw  a  ray  of 
moonlight  walking,  then  this  luminous  shadow,  float- 
ing as  a  dress,  took  the  form  of  a  body.  It  advanced 
towards  the  bed.  "A  thin  face  smiled  at  me,"  he 
said.  "I  cried  out  'Leontine !'  Then  the  luminous 
shadow,  still  gliding,  disappeared  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed." 

M.  Binet  was  at  this  time  at  Donchery ;  the  sub- 
ject was  a  young  girl  killed  in  the  bombardment 
of  Mezieres ;  and  the  apparition  was  made  visible 
during  the  very  night  and  at  the  hour  when  the 
child  was  killed.  Independent  of  the  interest  which 
these  apparitions  present,  independent  of  the  cer- 
tainty of  their  reality  and  even  of  the  proofs  of 
identity  which  they  carry  with  them,  we  must  agree 
that  those  seen  by  several  persons  may  also  pro- 
duce themselves  under  conditions  that  tend  to  con- 
firm the  materiality  of  images. 

They  satisfy  the  conditions  of  real  things,  when 
the  image  has  been  well  localized  by  everyone  in  the 
same  place,  when  it  is  reflected  in  a  mirror  and  ful- 
fills the  laws  of  perspective,  presenting  its  full  face 
to  one,  and  its  profile  to  another,  etc. 


MORS  JANTJA  VITAE  281 

An  account,  by  C.  Flammarion,  will  be  read  with 
interest.  It  concerns  an  occurrence  of  which  he 
knew  all  the  elements,  as  it  took  place  in  his  own 
family.  We  reproduce  it  in  full  and  with  the  com- 
mentaries of  the  author: 

AN  APPARITION 

Paris,  Dec.  5,  1911. 
DEAR  M.  LEYMARIE: 

In  answer  to  your  request  of  last  week  for  your 
Christmas  number,  a  fortunate  coincidence  has 
allowed  me  to  satisfy  your  wishes  and  I  hasten  to 
send  you  this  account.  Always  engaged  in  unend- 
ing researches,  I  was  looking  without  success  for 
some  new  fact  to  bring  to  your  notice  when,  this 
morning,  a  visit  brought  it  to  me.  My  lamented 
nephew,  Capt.  Camille  Martin,  of  the  Colonial  In- 
fantry, died  at  Paris  on  the  22nd  of  last  March, 
exhausted  by  fever  and  fatigue  at  the  age  of  46 
years.  He  passed  away  in  an  apartment  on  the  ave- 
nue des  Gobelins,  in  which  he  had  lived  for  over  a 
year.  His  widow  and  step-daughter  came  to  an- 
nounce his  demise,  both  still  trembling,  though  the 
event  had  occurred  seven  months  previously,  from 
a  psychic  phenomenon  worthy  of  attention.  A  long 
absence  from  Paris  had  prevented  them  from  speak- 
ing of  it  to  me  up  to  this  time. 

About  six  weeks  after  the  death  of  her  husband, 
Mme.  C.  Martin,  was  in  her  bed,  in  the  same  apart- 
ment (but  not  in  the  death  chamber),  when,  not  as 
yet  quite  asleep,  she  perceived  the  shade  of  her  hus- 
band, floating  in  air  not  far  from  her.  Her 
daughter,  asleep  in  another  bed,  awakened  suddenly 
and  perceived  the  shade  of  her  step-father  coming 
directly  towards  her,  looking  at  her  with  the  sunken 


282       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

and  sickly  eyes  which  characterized  him  in  the  last 
hours  of  his  life.  She  was  so  greatly  frightened,  that 
she  uttered  a  dreadful  cry,  and  even  now,  in  relating 
these  facts  to  me,  she  trembled  from  head  to  foot, 
and  her  features  took  on  a  strange  pallor.  I  begged 
them  both  to  write  separately  a  summary  of  what 
they  had  seen  and  felt. 

These  are  the  two  accounts: 

Statement  by  Mme.  Camille  Martin.  It  was  in 
the  first  week  of  May.  I  had  gone  to  bed,  quite  late, 
about  11.30  or  midnight,  very  much  absorbed  by 
the  petty  business  details  that  I  had  been  obliged  to 
discuss  during  the  day.  The  night  was  warm  and 
the  room  but  vaguely  illumined  by  the  lights  of 
Paris.  I  was  lying  in  bed  unable  to  sleep,  my  eyes 
wide  open,  when  I  perceived  a  shadow,  that  of  Ca- 
mille, with  a  grayish  hue  on  his  face,  his  eyes  sunken, 
with  deep,  dark  circles,  and  his  person  enveloped  in 
a  sort  of  grayish  drapery.  Half  of  his  body  was 
distinguishable;  his  legs  seemed  to  disappear  into  a 
grayish  tint,  as  if  enveloped  in  a  fog.  The  shade 
had  just  come  in  through  an  open  window  and 
seemed  to  float  at  about  sixty  centimeters  above 
the  floor,  advancing,  or  rather  gliding,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  my  daughter's  bed.  From  my  bed,  I  could 
follow  it  the  better  because  a  mirror  that  faced  me 
repeated  each  movement  of  the  shade.  Much  dis- 
tressed, but  without  the  least  fear,  I  wondered  what 
my  poor  Charles  was  seeking,  when  at  this  exact 
moment,  as  he  was  nearing  my  daughter's  bed,  she 
screamed  in  terror  and  called  me,  crying  out.  I 
answered,  "Yes,  I  see  him  too,  do  not  be  afraid." 
But  again  she  cried  out  more  piercingly  than  before, 
and  the  shade  disappeared  in  the  mirror.  After 
this  vision,  my  daughter  went  to  sleep  again,  quite 
calmly,  more  calmly  than  she  ever  had  before, 
since  this  death.  The  next  evening,  the  fear  of  see- 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  283 

ing  this  apparition  again  made  her  so  nervous  that 
she  did  not  wish  to  sleep  in  her  own  bed,  and  asked 
to  share  mine,  trembling  all  the  while.  As  for  my- 
self, I  have  never  experienced  the  slightest  fear.  On 
the  contrary,  I  felt  a  beneficent  calm  and  passed  the 
rest  of  the  night  without  the  smallest  disturbance. 

Often  since,  I  have  tried  again  to  see  Camille,  by 
thinking  strongly  of  him,  but  have  never  obtained 
the  slightest  phenomenon. 

I  must  call  to  your  notice,  also,  that  at  the  time 
of  this  apparition,  we  frequently  heard  singular  and 
inexplicable  noises  in  the  grooves  of  the  floor,  the 
doors  would  clap  violently,  even  though  they  had 
been  carefully  closed  and  locked  and  tested  at  vari- 
ous times.  Our  apartment  was,  as  you  know,  on 
the  fifth  floor. 

M.  MARTIN. 

Statement  by  Mile.  Bertha  Dupont.  This  dates 
from  about  the  first  days  of  May  between  the  fifth 
and  the  tenth.  We  had  retired  at  midnight.  I 
have  the  impression  that  I  had  been  asleep  about 
an  hour  when  I  felt  myself  awakened  as  by  a  fluid. 
Opening  my  eyes,  I  saw  a  shadow  a  short  distance 
away  from  me.  It  seemed  to  be  vaguely  draped  in 
a  shroud,  the  arms  crossed  on  the  chest,  the  lower 
part  of  the  body  not  being  visible;  it  was  like  a 
fog  about  to  lift.  The  shadow  seemed  to  float  and 
advance  towards  my  bed.  I  have  a  very  distinct 
impression  that  I  was  awake  and  saw  it  approaching 
me.  I  recognized  the  features  of  my  step-father's 
face,  and  was  seized  with  an  overwhelming  fear.  He 
came  directly  towards  me.  After  having  seen  and 
recognized  him  for  perhaps  two  seconds,  I  called 
out  in  order  to  awaken  Mother,  who  was  sleeping  in 
the  same  room,  almost  perpendicularly  to  my  bed, 
and  to  tell  her  of  my  fear.  She  answered  me  quietly, 


284       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

to  my  great  surprise,  for  I  had  thought  her  asleep: 
"But  I  see  it  also,  do  not  be  afraid."  In  my  terror 
I  cried  out  another  time  to  her  and  at  this  moment 
the  shade  vanished.  I  went  to  sleep  quite  calmed 
and  the  remainder  of  the  night  slept  better  than  I 
had  at  any  time  since  the  death  which  had  be- 
reaved us. 

BERTHA  DUPONT. 


"Here  are  two  observations  of  the  same  phenomena. 
The  explanation  generally  admitted  by  physiologists 
is  that  this  was  a  matter  of  hallucination.  But  I 
should  really  like  to  know  the  exact  explanatory 
value  of  that  word.  It  is  considered  as  a  synonym 
for  the  word  illusion.  That  is  to  say,  we  have  here 
a  purely  subjective  phenomenon,  and  there  is  nothing 
that  exists  outside  the  brains  of  the  two  narrators. 
Their  vision  was  a  simple  product  of  their  imagina- 
tion, and  nerves.  Is  a  collective  hallucination  as  sim- 
ple as  that?  We  may  suppose,  it  is  true,  that  Mrs. 
Martin,  under  the  vivid  impression  of  the  recent 
death  of  her  husband,  constantly  kept  alive  by  busi- 
ness discussions,  believed  she  saw  a  shadow  that  had 
no  real  existence,  herself  creating  it  entirely,  and 
that  the  waves  emanating  from  her  brain  had 
affected  that  of  her  daughter.  It  is  possible,  but 
such  an  explanation,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  is 
hypothetical  and  rather  complicated.  Let  us  fur- 
ther notice,  that  while  the  young  girl  watched  this 
mysterious  shade  coming  straight  toward  her,  her 
mother  had  seen  it  in  three-quarter  view  in  the  mirror. 
Divers  theories  have  been  brought  out  concerning 
apparitions  of  this  nature.  I  do  not  assert  that 
jtee  can  strictly  affirm  the  reality  of  the  presence  of 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  285 

my  dear  nephew.  It  is  not,  as  certainly,  disproved. 
But  the  one  hypothesis  is  not  less  acceptable  than 
the  others.  Why  destroy  the  fact  of  mere  skepti- 
cism? It  seems  to  me  wiser  and  more  logical  to 
register  the  observation  and  add  it  to  those  of  a 
similar  nature.  These  documents  will  serve  one  day 
for  definite  discussion;  let  us  not  neglect  any  effort 
toward  solution  of  the  great  problem.  It  may  be 
something  entirely  different  from  a  real  apparition, 
but  it  is  a  fact  of  observation  to  analyze  without 
any  preconceived  idea.  We  are  still  so  ignorant 
of  the  mysteries  of  the  soul. 

"CAMILLE  FLAMMAEION."  1 

The  observations  and  documentation  of  which  we 
have  made  use  thus  far,  in  order  to  establish  the  facts, 
are  serviceable  to  conquer  the  resistance  of  the  in- 
credulous. Now,  however,  that  the  credibility  of 
the  facts  is  well  established,  now  that  they  have  been 
verified  everywhere,  through  mediums,  with  living 
persons,  and  at  the  bedside  of  the  dying,  we  should 
lay  aside  all  considerations  of  the  objective  or  sub- 
jective nature  of  the  phenomenon.  Abandoning  the 
mask  of  skepticism  we  should  lend  an  ear  to  the  voice 
of  sentiment  which  has  also  the  right  to  be  heard. 
It  is  when  the  organs,  ravaged  by  illness,  are  en- 
feebled, and  cease  to  oppress  the  soul  with  the  heavy 
weight  of  matter,  that  we  all  become  clairvoyants.  It 
is  then  that  souls  approach  the  frontier  of  the  two 
worlds;  telepathic  communications  are  re-established 
quite  naturally  with  the  beyond;  and  the  invisible 
appears  to  us. 

We   read   in   Annals   of  Psychical   Science,   year 
i  Extract  from  La  Revue  Spirite,  January,  1912. 


286       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLDj 

1906,  page  159;  I  take  the  following  case  from 
Volume  III,  page  32,  of  Proceedings  of  S.  F.  P.  R. 
It  was  communicated  to  the  Society  by  an  Irish 
colonel.  It  being  understood  that  the  principal  role 
of  this  event  is  held  by  the  colonel's  own  wife,  one 
may  readily  see  why  he  would  not  desire  the  names 
to  be  published: 

About  sixteen  years  ago,  Mrs.  said  to  me, 

"We  shall  have  guests  during  the  entire  next  week. 
Do  you  know  of  any  one  who  could  sing  with  our 
daughters?"  I  remember  that  my  gunsmith,  Mr.  X., 
had  a  daughter  whose  voice  was  charming  and  who 
studied  singing  with  the  idea  of  becoming  a  pro- 
fessional. I  told  Mrs.  of  her,  and  offered  to 

write  to  Mr.  X.,  asking  him  kindly  to  permit  his 
daughter  to  come  and  spend  a  week  with  us.  This 
being  decided  upon,  I  wrote  to  the  gunsmith  and 
Miss  Julia  X.  was  our  guest  during  the  aforesaid 

time.     I  do  not  know  whether  Mrs.  saw  her 

afterward.  As  to  Miss  Julia,  instead  of  devoting 
herself  to  her  art,  she  married  Mr.  Henry  Webley 
some  time  later.  No  one  of  us  ever  had  occasion  to 
see  her  again.  Six  or  seven  years  passed.  Mrs. 

,    who    had    been    ill    for    several    months,    was 

dying  and  expired  the  day  following  the  one  of  which 
I  shall  speak.  I  was  seated  at  her  side  and  we  were 
talking  of  certain  matters  which  she  wished  very  much 
to  arrange.  She  seemed  very  calm  and  resigned;  in 
full  possession  of  her  intellectual  faculties.  This  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  later  the  wisdom  of  her  views 
was  attested,  when  the  error  of  our  lawyer's  advice 
was  recognized,  he  having  judged  useless  some  meas- 
ure suggested  by  the  sick  woman.  Suddenly  she 
changed  her  conversation  and  said,  addressing  her- 
self to  me,  "Do  you  hear  those  sweet  voices  singing?" 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  287 

I  answered  that  I  heard  nothing.  She  added,  "I  have 
heard  them  several  times  to-day ;  I  do  not  doubt  they 
are  angels  who  are  coming  to  welcome  me  into 
heaven;  only  it  is  strange,  that  among  them  there  is 
one  voice  I  am  sure  I  know,  but  I  cannot  remember 
whose  it  is !"  Suddenly  she  interrupted  herself  and 
said,  indicating  a  point  above  my  head,  "Why,  she  is 
here  in  the  room !  It  is  Julia  X.  Now  she  is  drawing 
near,  she  is  bending  over  you,  she  is  lifting  her  hands 
in  prayer.  Look,  she  is  going."  I  turned  about, 

but  saw  nothing.     Mrs.  added,  "Now,  she  has 

gone."  I  naturally  felt  that  these  affirmations  were 
nothing  less  than  the  imaginations  of  a  dying  woman. 
Two  days  later,  in  looking  over  a  number  of  the 
Times,  I  happened  to  read  in  the  death  notices  the 
name  of  Julia  X,  wife  of  Mr.  Webley.  This  im- 
pressed me  so  keenly  that  immediately  after  the 

funeral  of  my  wife  I  went  to  ,  where  I  sought 

Mr.  X,  and  asked  him  if  Mrs.  Julia  Webley,  his 
daughter,  was  really  dead.  He  answered,  "It  is  only 
too  true,  she  died  of  puerperal  fever.  The  day  of 
her  death  she  began  to  sing  in  the  morning  and  sang 
through  the  day  until  death  hushed  her  voice." 

Against  those  phenomena  produced  during  the 
crisis  preceding  death,  the  objection  is  often  raised 
that  they  are  subjective  hallucinations.  However, 
upon  examination,  this  explanation  seems  little  better 
than  the  one  of  an  excited  brain;  first  because  these 
visions  are  beyond  all  that  could  be  expected  from 
the  activity  of  an  organ  facing  annihilation;  finally 
because  the  elements  of  truth  which  they  contain  can- 
not be  explained  by  hallucination,  if  we  consider  the 
numerous  proofs  of  identity  and  premonitions  fur- 
nished by  these  apparitions. 

We  have  just  seen  Mrs. at  the  moment  of  the 


288       PROOFS  OP  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

final  crisis  receive  a  visit  from  a  person  whom  she 
had  no  reason  to  suppose  dead;  and  Mr.  Bozzano 
remarks  on  this  subject  that  we  know  no  analogous 
hallucinations,  producing,  under  the  same  form,  ap- 
paritions of  living  people.  On  the  contrary,  many 
cases  are  presented  in  which  the  dying  one  perceives 
the  specter  of  a  person  whom  he  thought  still  alive, 
and  who  in  this  case  is  really  dead. 

Here,  as  in  the  preceding  cases,  we  have  only 
touched  lightly  upon  the  subject,  not  having  treated 
any  case  thoroughly,  hoping  merely  to  arouse  the 
curiosity  of  the  reader  by  a  glance  over  an  assem- 
blage of  facts,  which  it  is  very  important  to  bring 
to  the  popular  mind.  He  who  is  interested  in  these 
questions  will  find  a  special  collection  of  books  that 
will  enable  him  to  answer  the  objections  that  arise 
to  these  statements.  But  the  great  book  has  yet  to 
be  written  upon  the  manifestations  which  take  place 
around  the  dying.  In  the  Annals  of  Psychic  Sci- 
ences, Mr.  Ernest  Bozzano  has  published  a  series 
of  ascending  complexities,  accompanied  by  very 
scholarly  commentaries.  We  quote  from  it  as  follows : 

Dr.  Paul  Edwards  called  to  the  bedside  of  a  friend, 
a  jick  perjon  in  full  possession  of  all  her  faculties, 
reports  the  last  words  which,  at  the  time  of  her 
death,  she  addressed  to  her  husband.:1  "Now  my 
greatest  desire  is  to  go  away.  ...  I  see  several 
shades  who  are  moving  around  me  all  dressed  in 
white;  I  hear  a  delicious  melody.  .  .  .  O,  there  is 
Sadie,  she  is  near  me  and  knows  perfectly  who  I  am." 
(Sadie  was  a  little  child,  whom  she  had  lost  about 
ten  years  before.)  "Sissy,"  said  her  husband  to  her. 

1Annals  1906,  p.  150-151,  Boul.  Pereire,  175  Paris. 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  289 

"Sissy,  do  you  not  see  that  you  are  dreaming?" 
"Ah,  my  dear,"  answered  the  sick  lady,  "why  did  you 
call  me  back?  Now  I  shall  have  more  difficulty  in 
passing  to  the  Beyond.  I  felt  so  happy  there ;  it  was 
so  delightful,  so  beautiful."  After  about  three  min- 
utes she  added,  "I  am  going  now,  again;  and  this 
time  I  shall  not  come  back  when  you  call  me."  This 
scene  lasted  but  eight  minutes.  We  could  see  that 
the  dying  woman  was  enjoying  a  complete  vision 
of  two  worlds  at  one  time,  because  she  spoke  of  faces 
that  were  moving  about  her  in  the  Beyond,  and 
spoke  to  the  mortals  in  this  world.  It  has  never 
happened  to  me  since  to  be  present  at  a  more  solemn 
or  more  impressive  death,  a  true  passing  over  into 
another  world. 


OTHEE  CASES  TAKEN  FROM  THE  ANNALS  OF  PSYCHIC 
SCIENCES 

Dr.  Wilson  of  New  York,  who  was  present  at  the 
last  moments  of  the  tenor,  James  Moore,  speaks  as 
follows : 

"It  was  four  o'clock  and  the  light  of  dawn  which 
he  had  awaited  with  such  anxiety  began  to  filter  in 
through  the  closed  shutters.  I  bent  over  him  and 
noticed  that  his  face  was  calm  and  his  eye  clear.  He 
looked  at  me  and  taking  my  hand  in  his  said  to  me, 
'You  have  been  a  good  friend  to  me,  Doctor,  you  did 
not  leave  me.'  Then  something  happened  which  I 
shall  never  forget  to  my  dying  day,  something  that 
my  pen  is  impotent  to  describe.  I  cannot  otherwise 
express  myself  than  by  saying  that,  though  he  seemed 
to  have  preserved  all  his  reason,  he  was  transported 
into  the  Beyond  and,  though  I  cannot  well  explain 
the  matter,  I  am  convinced  that  he  penetrated  the 


290       PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

spiritual  8omain.  In  fact,  raising  his  voice  more 
than  he  ever  had  during  his  illness,  he  cried  out, 
'There  is  my  mother !  Are  you  coming  to  me,  to  see 
me  here,  Mother?  No,  no,  it  is  I  who  will  come  to 
you.  Wait  a  moment,  Mother,  I  am  almost  free; 
I  am  able  to  join  you;  wait  a  moment.'  His  face 
had  an  expression  of  ineffable  happiness,  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  spoke  made  an  impression  upon 
me  the  like  of  which  I  had  never  felt  until  that  day. 
He  saw  his  mother  and  he  spoke  to  her;  of  that  I 
am  as  firmly  convinced  as  that  I  am  seated  at  this 
minute. 

"In  closing  these  memories,  I  wished  to  describe 
what  has  been  the  most  extraordinary  event  which  I 
have  ever  witnessed,  and  have  recorded  word  for  word 
that  which  I  heard.  It  was  the  most  beautiful  death 
of  the  many  at  which  I  have  been  present." 

Another  case,  page  149.  Mr.  Alfred  Smedley,  on 
pages  50-51,  in  his  work,  "Some  Reminiscences," 
describes  as  follows  the  last  moments  of  his  wife: 

"Some  instants  before  her  death  her  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  something  which  seemed  to  fill  her  with 
an  agreeable  and  very  keen  surprise;  then  she  said, 
'Why,  there  is  my  sister  Charlotte,  my  mother,  my 
father,  my  brother  John,  my  sister  Mary.  Look, 
they  are  bringing  Bessy  Heap  too.  They  are  all 
here.  Oh!  it  is  beautiful;  how  lovely  it  is!  Do  you 
not  see  them?'  'No,  my  dear,'  I  answered,  'I  regret 
that  I  do  not.'  'You  cannot  see  them?'  she  asked 
with  surprise.  'But  they  are  nevertheless  here,  they 
have  come  to  take  me  with  them.  One  part  of  our 
family  has  already  crossed  the  great  Sea,  and  soon 
we  shall  all  be  reunited  in  that  celestial  abode.'  I 
must  add  that  Bessy  Heap  was  a  faithful  servant, 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  291 

much  beloved  by  our  family,  and  that  she  always 
had  a  particular  affection  for  my  wife.  After  this 
ecstatic  vision  the  sick  woman  remained  for  some  time 
quite  exhausted,  then  raising  her  eyes  fixedly, 
towards  heaven,  and  stretching  out  her  arms,  she 
expired." 

Yes!  there  are  beauties  in  death  which,  better 
than  all  reasoning,  carry  conviction,  but  there  are 
also  truths  which  tax  reason.  The  cases  which  we 
have  just  cited  are  among  the  simplest,  but  the  same 
visions  are  often  found  in  the  different  forms  of 
phenomena  which  we  have  described  elsewhere.  When 
the  messengers  who  watch  at  the  door  of  death 
begin  to  be  visible  to  the  dying,  they  show  them- 
selves by  particular  signs  which  prove  their  identity, 
or  at  least  they  give  signs  of  objectivity.  Often 
they  are  the  purveyors  of  special  knowledge,  giving 
useful  warnings;  interesting  themselves  in  family 
affairs,  or  even  again,  as  in  the  case  of  Elisa  Man- 
ners, coming  to  collaborate  with  the  experimenters 
with  the  fixed  intention  of  furnishing  a  new  proof 
of  their  identity.  Consider  these  complications, 
weigh  all  this  in  your  mind,  and  ask  yourself  if  it 
be  longer  possible  to  believe  in  the  theories  of  the 
accidental  coincidence  of  hallucination? 

Another  proof,  which  is  not,  as  one  would  like  to 
believe,  merely  an  illusion,  is  that  these  same  phe- 
nomena are  perceived  by  very  young  children,  too 
young  to  be  accused  of  imposture.  Even  before  be- 
coming ill  they  describe  very  naively  the  wisdom  of 
a  parent  or  little  brother,  who  comes  to  tell  them 
they  are  soon  to  pass  over  to  the  "other  side," 
urging  them  to  tell  Mother  not  to  weep.  The  senti- 


292      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

ment  of  the  "other  side"  is  very  common  with  chil- 
dren, whose  ideas  no  other  doctrine  has  ever  warped. 
They  have  kept  a  memory  of  having  lived  before, 
a  memory  of  which  they  often  give  startling  proofs, 
citing  names  of  different  personages  whom  they  knew 
or  naming  the  professions  which  they  followed  in  a 
preceding  existence,  describing  places  they  had  in- 
habited, and  often  even  the  manner  in  which  they 
died. 

After  you  have  studied  the  whole  series  of  docu- 
ments based  upon  testimony  of  reliable  witnesses,  a 
synthetic  examination  of  all  the  data  will  force  con- 
viction upon  you.  You  will  bow  to  the  evidence  and 
will  free  yourself  from  the  deceptive  suggestion  that 
the  hypothesis  of  survival  is  not  a  rational  hypothe- 
sis because  it  is  contrary  to  scientific  data.  The 
materialists  are  those  who  claim  to  arrive  at  a  de- 
duction, in  the  same  manner  as  those  who  consecrated 
error  in  the  past  centuries,  and  retarded  a  progress 
which  has  been  realized  despite  them.  The  material- 
ist! Have  you  ever  wished  to  go  deeper  into  the 
psychology  of  a  man  who  believes  that  he  is  free 
to  deny  a  thing  because  it  shocks  his  conceptions 
concerning  matter?  Such  a  man  does  not  under- 
stand that  only  the  striking  realities  appreciable  to 
our  senses  have  the  right  to  be  affirmed  in  a  world 
where  all  material  appearances  are  but  illusions.  The 
first  error  of  man  was  to  believe  that  the  sun  rises, 
that  the  earth  is  immovable,  that  he  himself  is  the  cen- 
ter and  the  aim  of  creation.  The  materialist  is  a  man 
incapable  of  freeing  himself  from  the  illusion  of  the 
senses,  a  man  who  believes  that  sensation  should  give 
him  the  full  measure  of  everything.  Incapable  of 
abstracting,  he  finds  it  enough  to  discover  some  ves- 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  203 

tige  of  primitive  man  in  a  diluvian  stratum  of  the 
third  formation  in  order  to  believe  that  he  has  re- 
constructed the  genesis  of  the  world;  for  he  qualifies 
as  supernatural  all  that  which  transcends  his  under- 
standing. As  a  theologian  of  the  fourteenth  century 
denied  that  any  other  world  than  our  small  globe 
might  have  existed,  so  the  materialist  of  to-day 
denies  that  there  may  exist  something  more  subtle 
outside  of  our  organism.  The  man  who  does  not 
believe  what  he  sees  is  very  near  to  being  ridiculous ; 
the  materialist  is  absolutely  ridiculous.  Is  it  not  he 
who  yesterday  denied  the  possibility  of  magnetism, 
of  action  at  a  distance,  and  wireless  telegraphy?  Is 
it  not  he  who  made  the  visibility  of  things  the  cri- 
terion of  their  reality,  and  who  advanced  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  atom,  being  the  only  existing  reality, 
contained  within  itself  the  cause  of  all  things,  and 
was  the  only  basis  of  all  that  exists.  The  materialist 
is  still  more  ridiculous  to-day  than  the  theologian  of 
former  times ;  the  latter  could  conceive  our  world  as 
the  center  of  a  single  system.  But  he  who  proclaims 
that  the  atom  suffices  to  generate  the  world  of 
thought,  is  he  not  as  foolish  as  he  who  claims  that 
our  globe  suffices  to  explain  the  generation  of  suns? 
Why  do  we  always  look  below  for  the  solution  which 
can  be  found  only  above?  Why  should  we  refuse  to 
take  into  account  the  reasons  hidden  in  the  mystery 
of  the  Cosmos  under  the  pretext  that  our  gaze  can- 
not reach  them  and,  in  consequence,  the  cosmic  rea- 
sons must  be  supernatural?  But  you,  who  assume 
to  know  the  limits  of  life,  look  into  your  past ;  your 
mistaken  theories  no  longer  avail.  You  said,  "Life 
is  impossible  without  oxygen,  life  is  impossible  in 
darkness,  life  is  impossible  under  the  great  pressure 


294       PROOFS  OP  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

of  the  depths  of  the  sea";  and  perhaps  you  would 
have  been  right  if  matter  contained  the  germ  of  life. 
But  since,  in  fact,  life  transcends  matter,  is  the  vital 
principle  which  fashions  matter  and  organizes  it, 
adapting  it  to  its  ends,  observation  will  always  prove 
you  wrong.  Life  is  manifest  everywhere,  even  where 
it  is  forbidden  to  appear,  and  continues  where  you 
said  it  had  ended ;  and  life  does  not  even  begin  where 
you  believed  it  did.  In  order  to  limit  life  to  the 
short  space  of  time  comprised  between  the  cradle  and 
the  grave,  it  would  be  necessary  to  affirm  that  beyond 
these  limits  there  is  no  longer  mystery.  And  the 
materialist  accepts  no  mystery,  for,  in  order  to  per- 
suade himself  that  a  milligram  of  inert  substance 
may  perform  a  miracle  in  nine  months,  he  asserts 
that  his  chemistry  explains  the  progress  of  the 
fretus,  which  comes  into  the  world  for  the  first  time. 
He  assumes,  then,  a  knowledge  of  the  absolute  and 
an  understanding  of  first  causes,  and,  in  his  lack  of 
comprehension  of  the  mystery,  it  is  he  who  accuses 
the  spiritualist  of  pretending  knowledge  of  the  divine 
secret. 

But  the  reverse  is  true.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
measure  the  infinite  depth  of  the  skies  in  order  to 
ascertain  whether  they  extend  far  beyond  the  milky 
way;  he  who  should  fix  that  limit,  would  claim  to 
know  the  depth  of  things.  When  the  theologian  thus 
dared  to  fix  the  limits  of  creation,  he  was  obliged  to 
support  himself  by  divine  revelation,  just  as  the 
materialist  of  our  day  takes  his  stand  behind  certain 
so-called  scientific  revelations  which  do  not  exist. 
Science  teaches  us  nothing  of  "life"  and  it  has  never 
been  possible  to  imprison  the  spirit  and  the  intelli- 
gence within  the  limits  of  a  human  body.  No,  as- 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  295 

tronomy  does  not  need  to  know  the  secrets  of  God, 
to  enlarge  the  Universe.  We  ourselves  have  no  need 
to  possess  absolute  knowledge  in  order  to  make  clear 
the  scientific  way  which  has  enabled  us  to  enlarge 
the  domain  of  life.  The  spiritualist  is,  then,  well 
within  his  rights  when  he  looks  into  the  Beyond  and 
attempts  to  sound  its  marvelous  depths.  In  this  con- 
templation he  perceives  revelations  which  extend  well 
beyond  the  realm  of  physics  and  chemistry;  he  per- 
ceives the  spheres  of  the  mind,  of  consciousness,  and 
of  intelligence,  whose  domain  is  unlimited  and  whose 
evolution  is  effected  outside  the  limits  of  time  and 
space.  Man  misunderstands  himself  because  his  soul, 
a  pure  diamond,  is  surrounded  by  a  matrix,  a 
gangue;  and  because  the  world  which  he  sees  does 
not  fulfill  his  aspirations,  he  despairs.  A  day  comes, 
nevertheless,  when  fatigue,  and  the  oppression  of  the 
material  stimulate  him  to  make  an  effort.  His  mind 
tries  to  break  its  fetters,  and  the  poor  pilgrim  of  the 
earth  wanders  toward  the  city  of  the  dead;  he  leans 
his  ear  close  to  the  stone  walls  of  his  funeral  vault 
and  to  his  infinite  surprise  finds  faith  and  hope,  and 
raising  his  head  cries  out,  "We  do  not  die."  No, 
we  do  not  die,  because  the  creative  force  is  anterior 
to  the  condensation  of  organic  lives,  and  because  the 
study  of  the  Beyond  has  proved  to  us  that  the  indi- 
vidual soul  pre-exists  and  survives  corporeal  destruc- 
tion. 

With  the  eyes  of  our  body  we  see,  it  is  true,  the 
passing  materializations  of  consciousness  and  intel- 
ligence, whose  activity  continues  in  the  invisible, 
around  the  cosmic  current  from  which  everything  is 
nourished.  We  do  not  die,  for  nothing  of  all  that 
exists  can  die;  the  body  itself  is  a  survival  and  a 


296      PROOFS  OF  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 

composition  of  the  first  organic  souls  which  gave  it 
birth.  We  have  lived  in  the  protozoa,  in  the  zoophyte, 
the  reptile,  the  bird,  and  the  mammalia;  and  the 
little  beings  who  have  realized  these  forms  have  kept 
that  memory  in  order  to  furnish  us  to-day  the  ma- 
terials for  present  incarnations.  The  long  work  of 
the  centuries  has  not  allowed  its  instincts  to  be  lost — 
its  memories,  nor  the  gropings  of  organic  life;  on 
these  the  human  soul  has  been  grafted. 

If  one  of  these  forces  which  presided  at  the  first 
formations,  had  for  a  moment  ceased  to  exist,  the 
chain  of  successive  progress  would  have  been  broken, 
all  would  have  fallen  back  into  the  inertia  of  the 
original  atom.  If  evolution  progresses  it  is  due  to 
this  survival  and  to  the  inferior  souls  which  lived  on 
in  us,  and  which  are  concerned  with  the  lower  func- 
tions of  organic  life;  through  their  help  we  are  able 
to  ascend  and  lift  ourselves  towards  the  plane  of 
mental  life.  Nature  has  no  other  goal  than  life; 
that  is  why  we  do  not  die.  Life  is  all  and  matter 
is  nothing;  therefore  matter  passes  and  life  remains. 
And  those  who  have  crossed  the  threshold  of  the 
mystery  come  to  us  and  prove  that  a  telepathic  tie 
binds  them  to  us  in  a  certain  fashion.  The  doors 
of  the  sepulcher  let  rays  of  the  new  light  filter 
through ;  those  who  are  but  recently  deceased  hesi- 
tate no  longer;  pausing  on  the  frontier  of  the  two 
worlds,  they  are  able  to  send  us  some  material  signs 
of  their  presence;  from  beyond  the  tomb  they  send 
out  a  last  cry,  of  which  we  may  catch  the  echo. 
Finally,  when  we  ourselves  arrive  at  the  time  of 
ordeal;  when,  after  this  sad  life  through  which  we 
have  passed,  we  are  awaiting  obscurity  and  nothing- 
ness; our  psychic  vision  pierces  the  veil  of  matter; 


MORS  JANUA  VITAE  297 

those  whom  we  have  entombed  with  our  hands  re- 
appear in  a  new  day,  coming  to  radiate  about  us  the 
aurora  of  their  smiles.  Those  whom  w«  have  believed 
dead  cry  out  to  us,  "We  do  not  die !"  Listen  to  these 
voices  which  are  heard  in  the  history  of  all  peoples, 
in  the  traditions  of  every  age;  they  are  not  legends. 
The  new  revelation  for  us  is  that  science  now  affirms 
that  she  has  verified  communication,  is  placing  it  on 
an  absolutely  scientific  basis,  and  that  she  intends 
to  occupy  herself  in  studying  its  laws.  That  which 
gives  us  the  right  to  declare  this  is  the  testimony  of 
eminent  men,  who  have  devoted  many  long  years  of 
study  to  the  examination  of  these  facts.  Listen  to 
the  latest  one  in  our  time,  who  has  just  made  him- 
self heard.  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  who  quite  recently 
abandoned  all  qualifications  and  concluded  in  the  fol- 
lowing fashion: 

"For  my  part,  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  upon 
the  subject,  although  for  a  number  of  years,  even 
in  the  last  century,  I  have  had  recourse  to  all  sorts 
of  different  explanations,  but  little  by  little,  one  after 
the  other,  they  have  been  eliminated,  and  have  arrived 
at  the  proof  that  the  beings  who  communicate  with 
us  are  truly  they  whom  they  declare  themselves  to 
be.  Not  always,  but  in  the  end  the  conclusion  is 
reached  that  'survival'  is  scientifically  proven  by 
means  of  scientific  investigation.  I  believe  that  man 
is  surrounded  by  other  intelligences.  If  you  would 
go  beyond  humanity,  there  are  limitations  until  you 
arrive  at  the  Infinite  Intelligence  itself.  Once  you 
have  passed  beyond  man,  you  advance  and  you  must 
advance  until  you  reach  God,  Himself." 

THE    END 


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